On today's farm, B is for barn cat...E is for erosion...G is for grinding feed, and I is for...inoculate? In 26 beautifully detailed spreads, acclaimed illustrator Arthur Geisert takes readers on a literal journey following a real road in Iowa (County Road Y31) through the ins and outs of America's farmland. This isn't your grandfather's farm book. It still features pigs, hay, and other familiar farm residents, but you'll see a very different kind of quicksand and traffic jam here...Along the bottom of each page is a continuous panorama that totals nearly forty feet of art. Country Road ABC is a unique and funny look at America's present-day farmland.
Country Road ABC
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Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 3—A storm is unleashed over a city on the title page. As the story progresses, the sky clears and readers travel with a school bus, trucks, and other vehicles into a rural landscape. Each spread is devoted to an uppercase letter, a corresponding word, and a small black-and-white rendering of a concept or object. The road—surrounded by unfolding, full-color scenes of farms, a firehouse, a bar, a diner, a church, a rural town on the Fourth of July, and other assorted places—continues to meander along the bottom of the pages. For those who aren't familiar with "ammonia fertilizer" (A) or "erosion" (E), a conversational glossary is provided. "X" marks a spot on Y's "County Road Y31"; the aerial view highlights the shape of the always-challenging letter nicely. While the alphabetic arrangement provides an organizational scheme and an informational resource, children will return to the illustrations to revel in Geisert's detailed etchings of farmers working and relaxing. The story spans the four seasons with touches of humor, solemnity, and of course, pigs a-plenty. Several scenes, rendered in strong, black silhouettes, lend an air of calm and contrast. Children may enjoy comparing the style and subject matter to Alice and Martin Provensen's Town and Country (Harcourt, 1994).—Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library
(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
From Booklist
Like Elisha Cooper's Farm (2010), Geisert's latest picture book gives a refreshingly realistic view of contemporary rural life, from plowing fields and caring for livestock to chatting at the local diner. Each spread uses a letter to introduce a farm-related phrase, and the vocabulary, from ammonia fertilizer to the z-braces used to stabilize barns, is aimed at an audience older than the typical ABC crowd, although each phrase is explained briefly in an appended section. It's the clever design and highly detailed color etchings that stand out. On each spread, a scene illustrates the featured word, while the country road of the title runs along the lower half of each spread in an unbroken, continuous panel. A few dramatic scenes border on the abstract, such as the powerful silhouette of discarded objects that depict rust. For the most part, though, this offers snapshots of how farmers work today—not the cozy, idealized images common in picture books—and both city and country kids will want to return to its elaborately illustrated pages for repeated viewings. Preschool-Grade 3. --Gillian Engberg
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More About the Author
Arthur Geisert's unique and exquisite etchings have been widely praised and exhibited at the Chicago Institute of Art, among other museums. His work is regularly selected for the Society of Illustrators', annual Original Art exhibition, and his illustrations are now being collected by the Dubuque Museum of Art. He lives in a converted bank in Bernard, Iowa.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Down on Grandpa's Farm and beyond:,
By abookandahug "abookandahug" (Maryland) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Country Road ABC: An Illustrated Journey Through America's Farmland (Hardcover)
Old Arthur Geisert had a farm, e-i-e-i-o. Only in this case it's A, B, C, D, E, F G and well, you know the how the song goes. But, you haven't seen a farm book like this before. It grabs you. What is it like to live on a farm today? Arthur Geisert takes us through the world of the farmer alphabetically. When you first turn a page, you are presented with a very clear cut letter and an object it represents. For example, "A is for ammonia fertilizer." Okay, you get the idea now. This is not your average alphabet book or your average farm book. But that letter is only the beginning of the fun. Now there's a two-page spread for that letter and you instantly know that you are about to go into that picture and into another dimension and there are going to be fun things to see. It's as though Mr. Geisert (I haven't met him yet so I won't presume to call him Arthur) wants us to experience farm life and he gives us little moments in time in the life of a farmer. This book is so cool! "J is for July 4" and a tractor is rolling down the street in the middle of the parade. "T is for traffic" and the shadows of the still farm equipment stand still in time and the silence of the farm and its wide open spaces fills the double page spread. Are you with me here? We're in Iowa. (Not Kansas)! Lots of fun!
For more book recommendations visit me at abookandahug.com!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Aspects of farming life A-Z with illustrations that WOW,
By
This review is from: Country Road ABC: An Illustrated Journey Through America's Farmland (Hardcover)
This isn't your ordinary farm book. It also isn't your average ABC book. County Road ABC captures a way of life - the life of farmers living in a small farming community, or more specifically, the life along Iowa County Road Y31. Like in his other books, Geisert creates the illustrations using a copper-plate etching process combined with watercolors and acrylics and the resulting pictures are extraordinarily detailed. Starting with A is for ammonia fertilizer and ending with Z is for z-brace, the letters of the alphabet help describe various aspects of country life. The text is rather sparse, but the illustrations ... Wow! They are amazing. I've lived most of my life in and near small farming communities. The landscapes portrayed in the book, particularly the panorama picture that continues on the bottom edge page after page, accurately represent many of the country roads that I've traveled on. The book even depicts the seasons starting with the spring thaw and circling through summer, fall and the snowy, cold winter. The reader really does get a sense of what it is like living in a rural area. There are farm animals, a country church and graveyard, an abandoned one-room schoolhouse, a village parade, tractors in the fields, and even images of the volunteer fire department - this is the small town, rural Midwest that I know.
5.0 out of 5 stars
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This review is from: Country Road ABC: An Illustrated Journey Through America's Farmland (Hardcover)
Anyone living in a rural area or wishing to learn about a rural area with their kids will love this wonderful book.
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