Across America, I Love You - Hardcover

Loomis, Christine

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0786803665 ISBN 13: 9780786803668

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2000

Synopsis

Offers preschoolers a poetic tale that captures the diverse beauty of the nation while celebrating the importance of a family's bond.

About this title

From Publishers Weekly

Loomis (Cowboy Bunnies) assumes the poetic voice of a mother addressing a child as she draws parallels between this country's natural phenomena and a youngster who is growing increasingly independent. As the narrative opens, California sequoias "cradle the Western sky"; Kiesler's (A Blizzard Year) three-quarter-page illustration depicts a grove of the giant trees, and above the text, spot art features a mother cradling her baby girl. Later, in one of the strongest paintings, spring flowers in a Southwestern desert suggest the girl's own blossoming ("You will surprise me when you bloom all at once and with little warning. I will celebrate your surprises"). Though several of the paintings are disappointingly static and muted, the intentionally grainy oil paintings reflect the dramatic shifts in geographical locales, from the craggy Pacific coastline to the snowy woods of the North. The unwavering, nurturing tone of the text, for the most part, coheres well to the diverse nature scenes depicted, offering reassurance and sound advice (e.g., the mother points out that, like the prairie grass, "Sometimes you must bend and sometimes you must stand against the wind"). A few strained analogies may be lost on young readers, but they'll likely be carried along by the soothing tone of the narrative. An openly sentimental tribute to both America's varied landscapes and to the parent-child bond. Ages 4-8. (June)

Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

K-Gr 2-A poetic tribute to the special relationship between a mother and daughter. Each page highlights a different aspect of geography or seasons, such as California forests, the Rockies, Florida swamps, and northern winters, and relates it to the stages of growing up and their relationship. ("I am a cove, an inlet apart from the storms,/a shelter when you wish to come home.") This is a lovely mood piece with poignant metaphors and tender phrases. Warm, inviting oil paintings capture the spirit of each scene. The landscapes fill a full page and a quarter and there is an additional thumbnail sketch of the daughter above each block of text. There is no story or plot here, and the intended readers would likely be a very precocious child or a sentimental adult. A charming gift book for a special occasion, but not a first purchase for most libraries.-Beth Tegart, Oneida City Schools, NY

Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

Edition details

• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 0786803665
• ISBN 13: 9780786803668
• Binding: Hardcover
• Language: English
• Number of pages: 32
• Illustrator: Kiesler Kate