About the Author:
Born in Massachusetts in 1859, Katharine Lee Bates was a poet as well as an English professor at Wellesley College. Her poem "America the Beautiful" was inspired by the sights she saw during a trip from Massachusetts to Colorado in 1893.
Bryan Collier loves to paint. He has successfully channeled his creative energy and love of art into an illustrious career as a children's book illustrator and writer. He began painting at the age of fifteen and eventually landed a scholarship to attend Pratt Institute in New York. The Coretta Scott King Awards praised Collier’s work in 2001, 2002, 2003, and 2006, and he has won the Caldecott Honor for DAVE THE POTTER, MARTIN'S BIG WORDS, and ROSA. Bryan lives in New York City.
Jon J Muth has written and illustrated many enchanting picture books, including his Caldecott Honor Book Zen Shorts and its sequel, the New York Times bestselling picture book Zen Ties. Other beloved titles from Jon include the New York Times bestseller Hi, Koo!, The Three Questions, Gershon's Monster by Eric Kimmel, and The Christmas Magic by Lauren Thompson. Mr. Muth lives with his wife and their four children in New York.
Mary GrandPré has illustrated more than twenty beautiful books, including The Noisy Paint Box by Barb Rosenstock, which received a Caldecott Honor; Cleonardo, the Little Inventor, of which she is also the author; and the original American editions of all seven Harry Potter novels. Her work has also appeared in the New Yorker, the Atlantic Monthly, and the Wall Street Journal, and her paintings and pastels have been shown in galleries across the United States. Ms. GrandPré lives in Sarasota, Florida, with her family.
LeUyen Pham is the bestselling illustrator of Real Friends by Shannon Hall, The Princess in Black series with Shannon and Dean Hall, the Freckleface series by Julianne Moore, Hats Off to You and Shoe-la-la! by Karen Beaumont, and Grace for President by Kelly DiPucchio, as well as many others. She lives and works in Los Angeles with her husband and her two adorable sons who are best friends. Visit LeUyen at leuyenpham.com.
Diane was born in New York City. Since 1974, she has created the paintings for more than 30 children's books, including the Caldecott Honor Book When I Was Young in the Mountains by Cynthia Rylant.
Her most recent picture book was The Dinosaur's New Clothes (Blue Sky Press, 1999). About it, School Library Journal wrote, "Young readers will delight in Goode's humorous images of the prehistoric giants festooned in extravagant costumes and the dinosaur images peeking down from the gilded moldings of the palace's sumptuous rooms. ... A delightful addition to standard fairy-tale collections." Diane lives with her husband in Wachung, New Jersey, with their two dogs, a yellow Labrador retriever and a Welsh corgi. Their son, Peter, is an artist.
From School Library Journal:
K-Gr 5-When illustrations from 10 prominent children's book artists are combined with the words from Bates's "America the Beautiful" and quotations from a range of United States presidents, the result is a beautiful, patriotic ode to the best of our nation. This multifaceted concept is elegantly executed in a book that will be useful to anyone seeking to engage children in learning more about American history, landmarks, and symbols. Words from Jimmy Carter set the tone, saying, "We become not a melting pot but a beautiful mosaic. Different people, different beliefs, different yearnings, different hopes, different dreams." Each illustration, masterfully rendered by artists such as Yuyi Morales, Jon J Muth, LeUyen Pham, and Chris Soentpiet, among other stars, depicts a multiethnic, multicultural view of the possibilities America represents. The book design successfully integrates the various elements. Pictorial spreads leave one panel open for the quotations, while Bates's words appear in large type at the bottom or top of each illustration. The quotations all focus on helping others and being our best selves, individually and as a country. In a time when political debate is sharply divided, this book reminds us that some ideals are part of our national heritage and stand above the disagreements.-Lucinda Snyder Whitehurst, St. Christopher's School, Richmond, VAα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
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