The American Story: 100 True Tales from American History, by Jennifer Armstrong, illustrated by Roger Roth -- Day 100

The American Story: 100 True Tales from American History is a magnificent way to introduce the enormous span of our country’s history to a young person. Author Jennifer Armstrong describes her book as “a patchwork quilt of history…each piece can be looked at alone but it is also connected to all the others in patterns that reveal themselves with time and distance.” Each gem of a story is a revealing portrait of a person or event. The one hundred tales are arranged chronologically beginning with the establishment of St. Augustine in la Florida in 1565 and ending with the national election in 2000. Stories fall into five thematic groups – Settlement and Colonies (1565-1778), A New Republic (1791-1863), Expansion and Invention (1867-1899), Becoming Modern (1900-1945), and Brave New World (1946-2000) – but each is a unique look at a fascinating episode in history. Some are celebratory; some are tragic. Readers may well be familiar with Benjamin Franklin’s kite experiment with lightning, with steel-driving John Henry’s contest with a steam-powered drill, with Rosa Park’s challenge to Montgomery’s racist bus system, and with the success of the Endeavor in repairing the Hubble Space Telescope. They may not know about the uprising of the Pueblo people against the Spanish in the southwest in the late 1600s, the cloud of locusts that really did destroy the wheat crop of Laura Ingalls and her family in 1894, the invention of the potato chip at Moon’s Lake House in Saratoga or the Watergate break-in that forced the resignation of President Nixon in 1973. Engaging illustrations by Roger Roth grace each story. Adding to the rich collection, Armstrong has created a list of more than twenty Story Arcs that allow connections to be made among the tales – Exploration, Disease and Medicine, Immigrants, Communications, Native Americans, and Newspapers, to cite a few. An extensive bibliography, a list of recommended Internet resources on American history and an index complete this true gift to readers. Ages 8 to adult.

This Land Is Your Land, words and music by Woody Guthrie, paintings by Kathy Jakobsen -- Day 99

This Land Is Your Land is a rich and beautiful book. It contains all the words to Woody Guthrie’s song, one of our country’s best-loved folksongs. The verses are celebrated in paintings spread across two pages – a ribbon of highway, an endless skyway; diamond deserts and wheat fields waving – and in cameos of cities and countryside, homes and harbors, churches and community centers, with all the diversity that Guthrie cherished. The book pictures times in Woody’s life when he traveled and as he sang with friends; it takes us from California to the New York island, from the redwood forest to the Gulf Stream waters – and always we are invited to share his appreciation for the land that is made for you and me. Guthrie was born in Oklahoma in 1912; he lived in Texas and California and in New York. He had a special affinity for people going through hard times, and his songs often reflect their courage. Yet his message is universal: it is an expression of deep appreciation for the freedom promised by our expansive nation. Folk artist Kathy Jakobsen’s detailed paintings are at the heart of this moving book; she includes numerous quotes from Guthrie as well as picturing the sweeping, affecting verses. “A song don’t have to be as old as the hills to be good, true, or honest. Songs that tell the great battle of our people to get better and better conditions everywhere are as good, hot or cold, new or old, just so’s they’re honest.” There is, at the end, a tribute from his close friend Pete Seeger as well as more details about Guthrie’s life; the musical score of “This Land Is Your Land” is also included. Ages 4 up.

The Scrambled States of America, by Laurie Keller -- Day 98

One morning Kansas wakes up unhappy; he is bored just sitting there in the middle of the country all day. Kind Nebraska is sympathetic, and also very tired of hearing North Dakota and South Dakota bicker all the time. They decide to have an all-states party to get to know each other better – and share their favorite dishes. The party is a great success; the states spend hours talking, laughing, dancing and singing – and eating, of course. Idaho tries Georgia Peach Pie and New York Cheesecake, Minnesota tries the Iowa Corn Surprise… They have such fun they decide to switch places to see a new part of the great U.S.A. They rush home to pack (Wisconsin packs some cheese, and New Mexico a cactus), and by the end of the day they are all settled in new places. Well, after a few days Florida (who switched with Minnesota) feels terribly cold, and Minnesota gets badly sunburned – and situations elsewhere don’t feel quite right either. Everyone decides there’s no place like home, and once they are settled again they are happy to see their old neighbors and share their adventures and their new knowledge of other states and places. The Scrambled States of America is a delightfully wacky (but informative) geography lesson. Author and illustrator Laurie Keller has given it just the right touch with zany, colorful illustrations and a bazillion funny captions. It’s also a wonderful metaphor for the value of walking in another’s shoes, even if you are a state. Ages 5-9.

Walt Whitman: Words for America, by Barbara Kerley, illustrated by Brian Selznick -- Day 97

Walt Whitman loved words. As young as age twelve he worked as a printer’s apprentice and soon was typesetting articles of his own. He, with the help of his brother George, wrote and printed his own newspaper on Long Island. When he wasn’t working he was exploring the busy streets of Manhattan and the countryside he loved. His travels soon took him further – up and down the country from New York to New Orleans – scribbling in his notebooks all the while, recording his thoughts about the people and the conditions he observed. His heart ached when he saw people enslaved; he worried about the disparity of wealth he witnessed. He began to think about how he could help his country, and writing poetry became his way. “Finally, in 1855, with great care and pride, Walt typeset the pages of Leaves of Grass – his book for all Americans.” He wrote with a new style of poetry, robust and free. Walt was devastated when the country became divided by the Civil War. Though too old to join Union forces himself, he began to visit wounded and dying soldiers in hospitals when his brother was injured; he hoped that his poetry and presence could help. President Abraham Lincoln’s determination to bring the country together inspired him enormously, as did the courage of the soldiers. As always, poetry was his mission; he published Drum-Taps, a book of poetry about the war in which he, once again, captured the voice of the nation. In Walt Whitman: Words for America, author Barbara Kerley provides a superb biography of Whitman; readers get to know him and feel his restless energy through her narrative and Brian Selznick’s inviting images. Ages 7-10.

E. E. Cummings was a twentieth century American poet as in love with words as Whitman. He said poems aloud even before he could write, and his fascination with exploring language continued throughout his life. Enormous Smallness: A Story of E. E. Cummings by Matthew Burgess, beautifully textured with illustrations by Kris Di Giacomo, is all that the publisher describes: a “sensitive and spirited glimpse into the life of E. E. Cummings [that] will spark children’s curiosity about poetry.” Ages 5 up.