Description
    My big brother Hank used to tease me that girls can't be farmers. But he sure changed his mind the day the Heat Wave hit."

   So begins a battle of wits between a determined young girl and a wild fluke of nature played out across acres of rich Kansas farmland. The Heat Wave causes havoc at the farm - flowers pull themselves up by their roots and crawl under the porch to get in the shade - and that's only PART of it!

   One by one, the crops and livestock fall victim to the Heat Wave's attacks, only to be rescued by our determined heroine - who refuses to be defeated by a puff of hot air. This hilarious tall tale is GUARANTEED to keep young readers giggling, and turning the pages, and begging to read it again!

   Then we heard a commotion in the pasture. We raced over. The cows were hopping around like rabbits. The ground had gotten too hot, so we herded them inside the barn. They still looked miserable, though. Pa figured their milk had gotten to hot, so we set to milking. As it turned out, the cows had jumped to much, they'd churned their milk to butter. It came out melted. We'd milked the last of the butter when I had an idea.

 Reviews
"Surreal artwork sets a tongue-in-cheek tone for this rollicking tall tale that would do Paul Bunyan proud. Ketteman's dead-pan delivery heightens the humor, and Goto makes hay visually with color-saturated images that play off the intense weather conditions. Verbally and visually clever, this is a diverting new addition to the recent crop of over-the-top tales." 
 PW.Forecasts, 12/97

"Though the story ostensibly takes place in Kansas, it's clearly tall tale country instead. Goto's hot-colored pictures are as over-the-top as the eye-popping tale."
Booklist

"Goto's eye-popping, thermometer-busting illustrations are as over-the-top as the eye-popping tale."
Kirkus

"Younger children will enjoy the prescribed silliness, and older children might well be encouraged to create their own."
 SLJ

"In the style of a rollicking American tall tale, Ketteman spins a story in which things go from bad to worse on a Kansas farm when a Heat Wave hits. The bold illustrations are clear and lively and contribute significantly to each scene's general disarray and commotion. Younger children will enjoy the prescribed exaggeration and silliness, and older children will be encouraged to create their own."  
 SLJ, 3/98