Purple Mountain Majesties (Reading Railroad Books) [Mass Market Paperback]

Barbara Younger (Author), Stacey Schuett (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 15, 2002 | Age Level: 5 and up | Series: Reading Railroad Books

In the summer of 1893, a young professor named Katharine Lee Bates took a train west from Masachusetts to Colorado. On her trip, she saw the beauty and the grandeur of our nation-its mountains, fertile prairies, and shining seas-and was moved to compose a poem that would later be set to music and stir generations to come. Glowing paintings and lyrical text blend together to show the magnificence of the United States of America and how it inspired Katharine Lee Bates to pen the poem that would become our nation's unofficial national anthem.

Illustrated by Stacey Schuett

"Younger makes a living character out of Bates, whose quirks and full-bodied charm gracefully flow from the letters and diary excerpts." (Kirkus Reviews, pointer review)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

PURPLE MOUNTAIN MAJESTIES Barbara Younger, illus. by Stacey Schuett. Puffin, $6.99 ISBN 0-14-230181-7. "How a trip taken by Katherine Lee Bates inspired the poem that became 'America the Beautiful' makes a quaint story," wrote PW. "The appealing folk art brims with period particulars as well as sprawling renderings of those natural wonders that well deserve Bates's tribute." Ages 3-8. (May)
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

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. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 5 and up
  
• Mass Market Paperback: 32 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (April 15, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0142301817
• ISBN-13: 978-0142301814
• Product Dimensions: 11 x 9.3 x 0.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.1 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,299,590 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful Book For All Ages, December 6, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Purple Mountain Majesty (Hardcover)

Purple Mountain Majesties is one of the only books I have read that delightfully combine history, information, story telling, and beautiful pictures together. And this has been done in such a way as to make this book enjoyable to read by any one of any age. Barbara Younger brings Katherine Lee Bates and here poem America the Beautiful to life for us. And sometimes we need reminders of just how beautiful America really is! Hats off to Barbara and Stacey for quite an excellent book!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Gorgeous in many ways!, November 15, 2000

By 

"joannawilson" (Chapel Hill, NC, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Purple Mountain Majesty (Hardcover)

This historical biography is terrific! It paints a beautiful picture, both in illustration and in words, of the life of Katharine Lee Bates. Her story is captured brilliantly in the pages of this book and I recommend it to children and adults of all ages. The illustrations are simply gorgeous and the story coincides perfectly. Be sure to look for the "hidden flag" on the first and last pages! A definite must-have for any story collection.

4.0 out of 5 stars This book doesn't teach the song "America the Beautiful", July 31, 2006

By 

Dallas Girl (Sterling, VA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Purple Mountain Majesties (Reading Railroad Books) (Mass Market Paperback)

This is a beautiful book with amazing illustrations which give added meaning to the words to "America the Beautiful" and some history on how it was written. My disappointment with the book was that it did not include the words to the song only excerpts here and there. So, this book is better suited to a reader who already knows the song. My primary school age child doesn't know the song yet so it was a teachable moment, but an older child would appreciate it more.