Purple Mountain Majesties : The Story of Katharine Lee Bates and America the Beautiful - Hardcover

Younger, Barbara

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0525456538 ISBN 13: 9780525456537

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile, 1998

Synopsis

Chronicles the trip west taken by young Wellesley professor Katharine Lee Bates in 1893, during which she recorded her experiences in her journal and was inspired to write "America the Beautiful." Jr Lib Guild.

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Reviews

Grade 2-4?A picture-book look at the origins of a beloved song and at the woman who wrote the words. In 1893, Katharine Lee Bates of Wellesley College traveled west by train to be a visiting lecturer at a college in Colorado Springs. Stopping at Niagara Falls and at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, she jotted impressions along the way. The stunning scenery of Colorado inspired her to write a poem in praise of all she had seen and about the American ideals she held dear. The verses were published and later set to music. After several revisions, the song known today as "America the Beautiful" was composed by Samuel Ward. This fictionalized snippet of history will be of interest to children studying patriotic songs. The writing is serviceable and succinct with occasional quotes from Bates's diary. Full-color paintings show Bates enjoying her journey and offer some stunning views of mountains, hills, and plains. The complete lyrics of the song can be found on the back cover; unfortunately, no score is included. An additional purchase for music or Americana collections.?Beth Tegart, Oneida City Schools, NY
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Younger's first children's book tells the little-known story of the making of one of America's favorite patriotic songs. In the summer of 1893, 34-year-old Katharine Lee Bates, who taught English literature at Wellesley College, set out by train from Massachusetts for Colorado Springs, where she had agreed to deliver a series of lectures. Bates took copious notes while crossing the varied terrain, making stops at Niagara Falls and the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. With frequent quotes from Bates's diary, Younger chronicles, at times in excessive detail, the highlights of the teacher's trip, among them the "rich amber wheat fields of the Great Plains" and the Colorado Rockies, which "shone purple in the sun." How these vistas inspired the poem that became "America the Beautiful" makes a quaint story, though some readers may find it a rather rambling path. Schuett's (Somewhere in the World Right Now) appealing folk art brims with period particulars?such as beribboned hats and full-shouldered dresses, travel chests and home furnishings?as well as sprawling renderings of those natural wonders that well deserve Bates's tribute. The complete lyrics of the song appear only on the dust jacket. A pleasant sliver of Americana. Ages 5-9.
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In 1893, when she was 34, Wellesley English professor Katharine Lee Bates took a train trip from Boston to Colorado Springs to teach summer school. She kept a diary, as she had since she was nine, and wrote down odds and ends of observation and poetry when she could. She saw Niagara Falls, stopped off to visit a friend and see the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where she marveled at Mr. Ferris's Wheel and the gleaming white buildings. While in Colorado, she briefly glimpsed the top of Pike's Peak, and the beginning of poem began to form. Combined with her other jottings, it would become ``America the Beautiful,'' set to a hymn by Samuel Ward. Using original sources, Younger makes a living character out of Bates, whose quirks and full-bodied charm gracefully flow from the letters and diary excerpts. Schuett's illustrations, with their slightly exaggerated forms and saturated colors, capture not only the ``fruited plains'' and ``alabaster cities'' but vistas of Bates's hometown of Falmouth, and intimate scenes of her cozy bedside table and the parlor where she welcomed guests. A wonderful historical endnote will be appreciated by those who think they are too old for picture books, or those working on school reports. Put this on display near Barbara Cooney's Miss Rumphius (1982) and Michael Bedard's Emily (1992). (Picture book/nonfiction. 7-10) -- Copyright ©1998, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

Gr. 3^-5, younger for reading aloud. Traveling westward by train in 1893 to lecture at a college in Colorado, Katherine Lee Bates, a New England writer, stopped to view Niagara Falls and the Columbian Exposition in Chicago, spent the Fourth of July rolling past Kansas wheat fields, and watched the Rockies loom. Shortly after her arrival, she rode with friends to the top of lofty Pikes Peak--and turned all of her observations into the poem that has become our other national anthem. After delving into Bates' papers and corresponding with her descendants, Younger offers an energetic account of Bates' early life, interspersed with lines from her diary and other writings, then goes on to describe the poem's creation and how it came to be set to music. Using luminous stained-glass colors, Schuett depicts a series of American scenes and vistas for viewers and shows Bates as a sturdy, confident figure in regal purple and practical-looking wire-rim glasses. Match this enlightening, engaging picture book for older readers with Steven Kroll's grand and earnest account of the composition of "The Star-Spangled Banner," By the Dawn's Early Light (1994), illustrated by Dan Andreasen. John Peters

Edition details

• Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
• Publication date: 1998
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0525456538
• ISBN 13: 9780525456537
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 40