In her author’s note, Diane Siebert explains the genesis of the poems in this collection: a summer trip touring the United States that turned into a ten-year journey. The poems here are ones she wrote about some of her favorite sites along the way, from Paul Bunyan’s statue in Bemidji, Minnesota, to the Aurora Borealis in Alaska; Cadillac Ranch in Texas to New York’s Niagra Falls (“. . . great tumbling walls / of water / frothy white / all pouring down / and roaring down / and / rainbowed by the light.”). There are twenty-six poems representing a variety of natural and man-made attractions. Stephen T. Johnson painted a stirring visual accompaniment for each. The sites are pinpointed on a U.S. map on the book’s opening pages, and again on smaller maps that appear with the poems along with information about the specific subjects. (Ages 8–14)

From New Hampshire's formidable Mount Washington to San Francisco's spectacular Golden Gate Bridge, the scenic treasures of the United States are brilliantly captured in this artistic tour de force. Award-winning poet Diane Seibert's inventive poems are perfectly paired with Caldecott Honorrecipient Stephen Johnson's compelling imagery. Each turn of the page offers a surprisewhether it's an impressionistic painting of Niagara Falls, a wild collage of Las Vegas, or an evocative tallgrass prairie landscape. Additional facts about each site and a list of art media are provided, making this distinguished volume a gem for the study of literature, art, history, or geography.