The Corn Grows Ripe — Dorothy Rhoads

A Newbery Honor Book
 
Can Tigre find the strength and courage to support his family?
 
When Tigre's father is badly injured in an accident, the family is thrown into turmoil. Who will plant and harvest the corn that they need to survive -- and to please the Mayan gods? The neighbors have fields of their own to tend, and Tigre's mother and grandmother cannot do it on their own. Twelve-year-old Tigre has never done a man's work before. Can he shoulder the burden on his own, and take his father's place?  
 
“A book of special artistic distinction, with its well-told story rich in Mayan folkway and custom and its boldly appropriate drawings.” -- The Horn Book