My America : A Poetry Atlas of the United States

by Hopkins, Lee Bennett; Alcorn, Stephen

• ISBN13: 9780689812477
• ISBN10: 0689812477
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2000-09-01
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers

Summary

InMy America,Lee Bennett Hopkins weaves together fifty poems -- grouped by geographic region -- to create a remarkable portrait of the United States. Here is America in all its stunning variety, from the dramatic seacoast of the Northeast and the rippling cornfields of the Plains States to the shimmering deserts of the Southwest and the majestic redwood forests of the Pacific Coast. But here, too, are the ties that bind this nation together -- the hopes and dreams of those who live in our cities and towns and on farms.The voices of beloved poets like Langston Hughes, Carl Sandburg, Nikki Giovanni, and Lilian Moore blend with new voices to sing not just of landmarks like the Mississippi River, the Grand Canyon, and the Everglades, but of daily life across the land. Complementing these personal, moving visions of America are maps of the regions and fascinating facts for each state.Stephen Alcorn's brilliant, textured artwork makes this book a feast for the eyes as well as for the imagination. Impressive for its breadth, depth, and beauty,My Americais a volume readers will savor as they read it time and time again. It is fitting homage to our wideranging, ever-changing land.

Author Biography

Lee Bennett Hopkins, distinguished poet, writer, and anthologist, is one of the most sought-after speakers in the area of children's literature. His poetry anthologies include Hand in Hand: An American History Through Poetry, which was selected for five honor lists and which School Library Journal hailed as a "handsome volume...a boon to classrooms from sea to shining sea." Mr. Hopkins's numerous awards include the University of Southern Mississippi Medallion for "lasting contributions to children's literature," and both the Christopher Award and a Golden Kite Honor award for his poetry autobiography Been to Yesterdays: Poems of a Life. He lives in Westchester County and Greenwich Village, New York.

Table of Contents

Introduction	1	(1)
The Northeast States
Map	2	(1)
Facts	3	(2)
Watercolor Maine	5	(1)
C. Drew Lamm
Islands in Boston Harbor	6	(2)
David McCord
New England Lighthouse	8	(1)
Rebecca Kai Dotlich
Gulls and Buoys	9	(1)
Anne LeMieux
City Blockades	10	(1)
Lee Bennett Hopkins
Frost's Farm Road	11	(1)
James Hayford
Vermont Conversation	12	(5)
Patricia Hubbell
The Capital
Map	14	(1)
Facts	15	(2)
Washington, D.C.	17	(4)
Rebecca Kai Dotlich
The Southeast States
Map	18	(1)
Facts	19	(2)
Kentucky	21	(2)
Lee Bennett Hopkins
Knoxville, Tennessee	23	(1)
Nikki Giovanni
Bourbon and Canal	24	(1)
Brod Bagert
Charles Smith
The Mississippi	25	(1)
Tom Robert Shields
Alabama Earth (At Booker Washington's Grave)	26	(1)
Langston Hughes
Some Rivers	27	(3)
Frank Asch
The Great Lakes States
Map	28	(1)
Facts	29	(1)
from Crossing Ohio When Poppies Bloom in Ashtabula	30	(1)
Carl Sandburg
This Is Indiana	31	(1)
Rebecca Kai Dotlich
Tonight in Chicago	32	(1)
Anonymous
Dear Cousin	33	(1)
Kathryn Allen Ilitch
Wisconsin in Feb-b-rr-uary	34	(1)
Lee Bennett Hopkins
Front Porch	35	(1)
Leslie Nelson Jennings
Farmer	36	(1)
Prince Redcloud
Pine Tree Tops	37	(3)
Gary Snyder
The Plains States
Map	38	(1)
Facts	39	(1)
Midwest Town	40	(1)
Ruth De Long Peterson
Kansas Boy	41	(2)
Ruth Lechlitner
Laughing Corn	43	(1)
Carl Sandburg
Nebraska	44	(1)
Jon Swan
Grandpa's Trees	45	(1)
Barbara M. Hales
Sioux Lullaby	46	(1)
Prince Redcloud
Winter Dark	47	(3)
Lilian Moore
The Mountain States
Map	48	(1)
Facts	49	(1)
``For Purple Mountains' Majesty''	50	(1)
Myra Cobn Livingston
Boulder, Colorado	51	(1)
X.J. Kennedy
Driving Montana	52	(1)
Kris Aro McLeod
Idaho	53	(1)
Kaye Starbird
Snow Country	54	(1)
Dave Etter
Skier	55	(1)
Robert Francis
Zion National Park---Utah	56	(1)
Fran Haraway
Until We Built a Cabin	57	(3)
Aileen Fisher
The Southwest States
Map	58	(1)
Facts	59	(1)
Lifeline	60	(1)
Shonto Begay
Cactus	61	(2)
April Halprin Wayland
Desert	63	(1)
Lillian M. Fisher
The Hawk	64	(1)
Douglas Florian
Santa Fe, New Mexico	65	(1)
April Halprin Wayland
March in New Mexico	66	(3)
Elizabeth Coatsworth
Grand Canyon Colors	69	(3)
Tom Robert Shields
The Pacific Coast States
Map	70	(1)
Facts	71	(1)
California Missions	72	(1)
Ann Whitford Paul
California Ghost Town	73	(1)
Fran Haraway
Behind the Redwood Curtain	74	(2)
Natasha Wing
Seattle Morning	76	(2)
Lee Bennett Hopkins
Alaska	78	(1)
Joaquin Miller
Mauna Loa	79	(1)
Tom Robert Shields
Acknowledgments	80	(1)
Index of Authors	81	(1)
Index of Titles	82	(1)
Index of First Lines	83