As in their earlier Prairie Town, Arthur and Bonnie Geisert chronicle activity across the seasons in a small Midwest town, this time one situated on a great river. Life in the unnamed River Town is linked inextricably to the river throughout the year. Grain grown by local farmers is shipped out on the river in the fall. In winter, the river becomes a playground for children and source of food for ice fishers. Spring brings the threat of floods to the whole community, and summer means boating and fishing, as well as the return of river commerce. The detailed etchings, inked in full-color, offer a wealth of activity for observant young eyes to notice in illustrations that are nostalgic without being sweet, depicting life in a still-recognizable time in the twentieth century. (Ages 7-10)

During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, small towns sprouted up along the banks of America's rivers. Through a year of changing seasons the reader is transported to the days when people's livelihoods were directly connected to the river. The life of the townsfolk is shown to be an accumulation of events both large and small, from a joyous Halloween parade to the frozen river in winter to the threat of damaging springtime floods. Children and adults alike will pour over these pages of intricate etchings, noticing the changes and happenings of day-to-day, season-to-season life lived along a river. As they did in Prairie Town, the Geiserts have once again created a stunning tribute to small-town America as it once was and, to an extent, still remains today.