Six-year-old Claudia gets the fun of squishing the grapes to
make the wine and overcomes a childhood fear as well. In a voice
that sounds rather older than her years, Claudia recounts her
excitement at finally being old enough to crush grapes with her
many relatives. A huge barrel is placed on the roof of a cantina
(a small stone outbuilding), the grapes are put into the barrel
and the family dances and sings, smashing the grapes with their
feet. To help her overcome her fear of heights, Claudia’s
grandmother and aunt first coax her to climb alone into Nonna’s
high iron bed, then to reach, via a kitchen chair, to a high
shelf where the cheese she loves is kept. Her mama climbs up the
ladder behind Claudia, her brother pulls her up and there she
is, singing and dancing with the rest of the family. In an
author's note, Buonanno reveals that she grew up in Tuscany and,
like Claudia, was afraid of high places. She laments the
appearance of grape-crushing machines that appeared in the
1950s, taking away the fun. C