America the Beautiful [Illustrated] [Paperback]

Katharine Lee Bates (Author), Neil Waldman (Illustrator)

Book Description

The same country that inspired Katharine Lee Bates in 1893 to write "America the Beautiful" inspired Neil Waldman, one hundred years later, to illustrate Bates's poem with gorgeous acrylic paintings.

Waldman's stunning panoramas take us from coast-to-coast: from Niagara Falls to Napa's fruited plains, from Mount Rushmore to the Statue of Liberty. In the back of the book, there is a glossary that provides readers with more information about each site. Also included is the sheet music for the song "America the Beautiful," combining Bates's poem with the music of Samuel A. Ward's hymn.

Join Katharine Lee Bates and Neil Waldman as they marvel at the beauty of our country, and celebrate its glory.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

A Wellesley professor's trip to Pikes Peak in 1893 inspired the now-famous verse extolling the American landscape; Waldman ( Light ; Bring Back the Deer ) writes that his own travels west instilled in him an awe of "beauty beyond the realm of imagination." Using Bates's verse as his text, Waldman paints scene after scene, matching every phrase to a specific locale (these are identified in a well-designed key at the end). He pays homage to the "spacious skies" (above the Great Smoky Mountains of Tennessee), the "purple mountain majesties" (the Grand Tetons) and the "fruited plains" (the Napa Valley). Impressively and imaginatively, he conveys his wonder at natural beauty by stylizing his art: he renders each vista in thick, impressionistic strokes from a predominantly violet palette, choosing his colors as if from a paradigmatic sunset. Beautiful indeed. All ages.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From School Library Journal

K Up-Waldman has produced 14 stunning acrylic paintings to illustrate the first stanza of Bates's poem, and the America depicted here is as beautiful as hers must have been in 1893. Each picture is reproduced in miniature and accompanied by a brief explanation of the site at the back of the book. Although it really needs no interpretation to be appreciated and enjoyed as art, some of the impressionistic portraits will not be easily recognized. It is therefore useful to learn that "purple mountains" rise majestically in the Grand Tetons of northern Wyoming and the "fruited plain" is in California's Napa Valley. Even for the familiar, such as Mount Rushmore, the information is of interest. A fine title that should inspire its readers with a desire to see these wonders for themselves.
Linda Greengrass, Bank Street College Library, New York City
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers; 1st edition (June 1, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689852452
• ISBN-13: 978-0689852459
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 7.2 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #179,175 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #48 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Explore the World > United States
  • #71 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > History & Historical Fiction > United States > General
  • #78 in Books > 4-for-3 Books > Children's Books > Literature > Poetry > General

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great for kids!, March 5, 2002

By 

A. Y. Smittle (Winchester, VA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: America the Beautiful (Hardcover)

I wanted to just "read" the book to the kids. But gosh, I started singing it. And did they love it. I sang and flipped pages as fast as I could. Over and over. I teach preschool and this was America week. This was pretty much the only book about America their "level." It has beautiful "impressionistic" painitings of all sorts of beautiful and significant places in America that you can talk about. And if you are proud and interested, the kids will be too. We sit on a map rug so the kids are getting familiar with all our landmarks. But this book helps learn the song and gets them familiar with our nation. The last page has a picture of the Statue of Liberty in the harbor, "from sea to shining sea." I felt so good to read this to the kids. Please get this to make not only children feel good about where they come from, but also you as well!

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It has wondeful illustrations., December 10, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: America the Beautiful (Hardcover)

The book has good illustrations and it has the song five times. The illustrations go very nicely with the words to the song.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars America is the Beautiful, November 6, 2004

By 

Bonnie Sayers "autismfamily" (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: America the Beautiful (Paperback)

A visual record of a cross-country trip that was inspired by the poem America the Beautiful with vibrant, expressive watercolors set in pastels and earthy tones.

There are fourteen panoramas in this thirty-two page book that covers east to west and north to south. One line of the first verse is placed on one side among the two-pages. The waterfalls appear misty with the dark clouds looming behind. This image was captured in rainbow colors tapering off as the water hits the bottom. The rolling hills are dotted in pinks, purples and greens as the spacious skies flow across the page.

Then we have the calm ness of the bulls or buffalo grazing before turning to find the purple mountains majesties. The fruited plains consist of teal green and blues showing a few people working in the fields. This is a beautiful picture that gives the image of working in the fields as rewarding and serene. The second page with America! as the text is spectacular with tall bare trees as if you were standing down at the bottom looking up at them. It appears to be a moment captured of a father and son looking at the forest.

This is a beautiful one-of-a-kind book that deserves to be sitting on the coffee table to highlight the splendor in these images set to this patriotic song. Inside are man-made wonders, natural ones, ancient dwellings, glaciers, desert, sea and rain forests. The colors evoke a range of emotions as you flip through the pages of America the Beautiful. Now that I have these portraits nestled in my memory the song will take on such new meaning.

Readers young and old can delight in the beauty that can be found along the roads traveling inside the United States. This would make a great gift for anyone planning summer excursions within the country. America the Beautiful would be appreciated by older relatives to remind them of the locations they have visited as well as offer the younger ones a sense of the beauty that is found at these places while learning the words of the poem and singing the song.