With each late winter breakfast Ethan and his dad have without maple syrup (pancakes with applesauce, cornbread with butter, oatmeal with raisins and walnuts), Ethan asks if it's sugaring time yet. And each time his dad specifies what they're still waiting for-warmer days, shorter nights, and, finally, for Ethan's loose tooth to fall out. "Now Ethan had two things to wait for." This quiet, child-centered story about patience and waiting and, finally, gratification is filled with details of nature, as well as the process of making maple syrup. The illustrations aptly portray the yearning of a young boy (white) who'd like time to move faster and the dark nights to grow shorter. (Ages 4-7)