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bookgirl4ever's review
5.0
Anno journeys to the United States from Japan. He crosses the U.S.A. from West to East, passing, the Pioneers, bison, Native Americans, various key national monuments and historical sites and incorporating various classic literary and pop culture icons into his illustrations, including The Little House on the Prairies, Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, The Wizard of Oz quartet, etc.
Grades 1-4.
Grades 1-4.
cleansky7's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
mat_tobin's review
5.0
When Anno wanted to create a picturebook about the USA he hadn't quite expected the country to be as big or extensive as it was. The scale of the country came as a shock but he perservered and, hiring a car, much like the lone traveler in his stories, enjoyed exploring the land. In the back of the book, Anno says:
'The history of America move across the country from East to West, so by making the traveller ride from West to East I am taking him back through the passage of time from page to page, until just as he is leaving America he encounters The Mayflower - which had arrived more than three hundred years before him.'
Anno's USA comprises of several landscaped double-page spreads in which we see a variety of settling and settled people and the cultures that they inhabit. There is an interesting argument here for the stereotyped, misrepresentation of some of the cultures and that would make an interesting exploration in itself but I enjoyed finding the mini-homages Anno gives to the literary greats: Sendak's Wild Things, Baum's Oz and McCloskey's Ducklings to name just a few.
There is so much to look at and explore here and I always enjoy Ann's blend between the past and present, rural and cityscape.
'The history of America move across the country from East to West, so by making the traveller ride from West to East I am taking him back through the passage of time from page to page, until just as he is leaving America he encounters The Mayflower - which had arrived more than three hundred years before him.'
Anno's USA comprises of several landscaped double-page spreads in which we see a variety of settling and settled people and the cultures that they inhabit. There is an interesting argument here for the stereotyped, misrepresentation of some of the cultures and that would make an interesting exploration in itself but I enjoyed finding the mini-homages Anno gives to the literary greats: Sendak's Wild Things, Baum's Oz and McCloskey's Ducklings to name just a few.
There is so much to look at and explore here and I always enjoy Ann's blend between the past and present, rural and cityscape.
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