I wish I could give this book more than just 5 stars because this book was FANTASTIC! The illustrations were beautiful, all based off of real places in the U.S. I was singing the song "American the Beautiful" as I read the words on each page. At the end of the book, there were biographies of the woman who thought of the words to describe America, and the man who thought of the melody to go with it. Also at the back were lyrics to the song and a map of the U.S.A. The entire book contains a song, poem, history, and a map all about the U.S. ( )

Genre: poetry
Audience: Pre k-5
This is a beautifully illustrated book that has verses from the poem with appropriate pictures from different parts of the U.S. It is a great read for all children and I will use this in my classroom to chorally sing this poem at the beginning of each day while I show pictures on ELMO. ( )

America the Beautiful, illustrated by Wendell Minor.

Written in 1893, when Wellesley English professor Katharine Lee Bates was traveling in the western United States, and inspired by a number of the sites she visited - the World Fair in Chicago, the golden prairies of Kansas, the majestic Rockies - the poem America the Beautiful was eventually set to music (composed by Samuel A. Ward) in 1910, and has become one of the most popular patriotic songs in the United States. The text of the poem/song is presented here in this lovely picture-book tribute, with accompanying artwork by Wendell Minor, while an afterword gives further information about Bates, Ward, and the landmarks depicted in the illustrations.

Having enjoyed looking at Chris Gall's visual interpretation of America the Beautiful recently - I had intended to read this version done by Wendell Minor, but somehow accidentally ended up with that edition instead, when requesting it from my library - I was curious to see what I would make of another artist's vision of the same song. All in all, I was greatly impressed! I found Minor's paintings beautiful, and when paired with the little descriptions of each that were offered at the rear, informative as well. There is a light-filled quality to his landscapes that really makes them come alive on the page, while his choice of theme and location - geographically and temporally diverse - was quite pleasing. Highly recommended to anyone looking for the song America the Beautiful in picture-book form. ( )

Good book for children to learn about our country and learn how we became a free nation. Good factual book, children need to learn about America and be proud about the country. ( )