Reviews for America the beautiful

The average rating for America the beautiful based on 2 reviews is 4.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-07-02 00:00:00 Melanie Manley Katherine Lee Bates' classic poem (including the two verses not usually sung) set to the gorgeous illustrations of Wendell Minor. He selects several famous and/or beautiful places in America to represent the various lines of the poem, from Half Dome and Yellowstone Falls to a picturesque mailbox in Connecticut to a farm in Kansas. Just gorgeous! The back matter includes a brief biography about Bates and Samuel A. Ward (who wrote the music), a facsimile of one of Bates' hand written manuscripts, as well as a bit of info on each place represented in the illustrations and a map of the USA to set it all in place. Children who have done a bit of traveling will probably enjoy seeing which of these beautiful places in their country they have already visited. I know I was tickled to see a few places I've been to represented (Heceta Head, Oregon; Half Dome in Yosemite; Garden of the Gods and Pike's Peak, Colorado (where Bates got the inspiration for her poem); Cape Canaveral, Florida; Vermont; Plymouth Plantation, Massachusetts) and the beautiful illustrations made me long to visit most of the other places, too. I also thought it was nice that Minor included Canyon de Chelly National Monument in Arizona, home of the Navajo (one is pictured in the illustration). A touching and poignant reminder that many people knew the beauty of these lands before it ever became "America". Highly recommended!

Review # 2 was written on 2012-07-02 00:00:00 Willy Whyn I'd meant to get a copy of this poem book by a different illustrator. But I'm happy with this edition. I love its story. The illustrator grew up in America and moved to Israel after college. An Israeli friend finally convinced him to take a road trip through America to see the sights. The paintings in this book came from that trip they took together. I've always liked this song, better than our national anthem. The four verses of this poem are shown with their music on the inside covers but only the first verse appears, with illustrations, in the book. My biggest gripe is that Niagara Falls is shown on the Canadian side, the far more beautiful side, yes, but this is supposed to be a book about America, not Canada. All the paintings are shown again the last three pages of the book, in large thumbnail view, with their location and a bit about their location. Those locations are: Monument Valley, Niagara Falls, The Great Smoky Mountains, The Great Plains, The Grand Tetons, Napa Valley, The Grand Canyon, The Coastal Redwoods, Mesa Verde, Rainbow Bridge, Mount Rushmore, Oregon Coast, Statue of Liberty, and Pikes Peak, the location that inspired the poet to write this poem in the first place. I did enjoy the illustrations. I like what is done with color and brushstrokes, and I like the colors used. They're a good complement to the poem/song.