Tulip Sees America (Rise and Shine) - Softcover

CYNTHIA RYLANT is the acclaimed author of many beloved books for young people, including the Mr. Putter & Tabby series, the novel Missing May, which received the Newbery Medal, and the Little Whistle series. She lives on an island in Puget Sound, Washington. ARTHUR HOWARD is best known as the illustrator of Cynthia Rylant's Mr. Putter & Tabby series. He is also the illustrator of Kathi Appelt's Bubba and Beau series and has written and illustrated three picture books of his own: Hoodwinked; When I Was Five, an ABA's Pick of the Lists and a Crayola Kids Best Book; and Cosmo Zooms, an IRA-CBC Children's Choice. He lives in New York City.

Kindergarten-Grade 4?"My parents were homebodies..../But when I grew up,/I knew I was different./I wanted to see America." Thus, the unnamed narrator drives off to see the country, from Ohio to Oregon, accompanied by his dog, Tulip. Rylant's poetic text does not give a tour-guide catalog of sights, but rather rhapsodizes on the salient features of the changing landscape. The images spark an emotional response that lingers in the mind. For example, she describes the ocean in Oregon: "You are on a cliff/and the water is below you/and as far as you can see,/and you think/the earth has dropped/away from you and/you'd better know how to swim." The artwork looks like a mixture of Chagall and American Primitive and supports the dreamlike, out-of-time quality of the narrative. The full-bleed, full-page pictures depict each region and the printed text is incorporated into the overall design. The illustrations, which were produced by scanning oil paintings into a computer for the finishing touches, are rich with the textures of the oils combined with the luminescent color quality of computer graphics. While many libraries may not consider this a necessary purchase, it is an attractive book that aptly conveys that feeling of wonder at discovering new places. It could inspire children to talk or write about places they have seen.?Karen James, Louisville Free Public Library, KY
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