Farmers Unite!

August 24, 2020
Accessible prose and quotations from primary sources enrich this nonfiction photo-illustrated picture book, which recounts the American farmers’ protests that took place in the 1970s and ’80s. Using variations on a refrain (“the farmers planted a plan... /... to send in the tractors”), Metcalf details how tractors became a significant symbol and tool in farmers’ fight to seek governmental policy change and assistance as well as public support. Paragraphs of text on monochrome backgrounds face photos from the time, for example of an old tractor set on fire. The volume has a visually institutional bent, but its coverage of lesser-known protests makes it a solid school or library resource. Back matter includes an author’s note, a farm protest timeline, a table detailing U.S. farm prices through the years, and a list of sources. Ages 8–12.

October 1, 2020

Gr 3-6-A narrative nonfiction account of the American Agricultural Movement of the 1970s and 1980s, which uses sparse text and plenty of tractor photos. In 1977, farmers organized "tractorcades" in capital cities around the nation. They drove their tractors into public spaces to protest falling grain prices and the rising cost of tractors, fuel, and land. Advocates then descended upon Washington, DC, in 1979, turning Capitol Hill into "Tractor Town." Protesters organized marches and rallies, drove into the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, and burned a tractor, which incited police violence. Police in riot gear used tear gas, pepper spray, and clubs against the protesters. Ten years after that first "tractorcade," farmers' united effort finally paid off as Congress approved the Agricultural Credit Act (ACA) of 1987. The narrative is a decade-long snapshot in straightforward prose and photos, which could have benefited from more historical context regarding the cause of the price shift that prompted farmers to protest as well as the legacy and modern impact of the ACA. Large color and black-and-white photos feature exclusively white farmers, protesters, and lawmakers. Back matter includes an author's note, a time line, and farm price statistics. VERDICT This is a well-researched look at the power of protest, the violence protesters sometimes endure at the hands of law enforcement, and the importance of community organization and activism. Purchase where more nonfiction books on the power of protest are needed for elementary readers.-Allison Staley, Lake Oswego P.L., OR

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2020
Grades 3-7 The U.S. has a long history of using protest to fight injustice, and this photo-essay takes readers back to 1977, when farmers were going broke selling their crops for less than it cost to produce them. After organizing the first "tractorcades" in which 100,000 tractors descended on Plains, Georgia, hoping to gain the attention of President Jimmy Carter, once a peanut farmer, the American Agriculture Movement quickly gained momentum. A spare but expressive narrative follows the movement as farmers organize an even greater protest in January 1979, driving tractors across the country to Washington, D.C., to ask the nation's lawmakers for parity. The full-page period photos of tractors creating gridlock around the city and protesters calling for fair wages for their produce tell a deeper story. An unexpected blizzard in the middle of the protest lends even more drama to the event. The text and photos continue with another decade of protests until the government steps in with a loan rescue program. Back matter provides more facts about this important but often overlooked moment in history.

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