Heartland

This book gives you a warm, secure feeling after reading the poetic format and viewing the wonderful illustrations! I taught 4th grade for most of my 32 yr. teaching career. Every year, this book was a special hit with the students. I would read it aloud to them while displaying the pages. We would have to stop often and make comments and discussion about the glowing illustrations. The text gives one a feeling that the Heartland of our country is truly a living being. Afterwards, the students would scramble to see who might take it home that evening. Think kids are jaded in today's society? Give them a gander at this book and then make a decision.

My son absolutely loves this book, the illustrations are gorgeous and it is written like a long beautiful poem. The rhythm lulls my son to sleep."I am the Heartland, Shaped and linedBy rivers, great and small, that windPast farms, whose barns and silos standLike treasures in my fertile land."My son is fascinated by tractors and anything that has to do with farms so this book has definately been a hit with him.

This is one of my favorite children's books of all time. I was born and raised in the midwest and this book always reminds me of my roots. It also has great pictures. A great present for any child.

Heartland sings the praises of America's Middle Western farms in poetic text and full-color illustrations. Many colonial era stories, both fiction and non-fiction, focus upon the farm as a symbol of hard work and accomplishment. Thomas Jefferson, for example, was a well-known agriculturist and devoted gardener. The pioneering and self-sufficient spirit upon which this country was founded is still evident in today's farming communities. "I am the Heartland, Great and wide. I sing of hope. I sing of pride." This book serves as a great way to make children aware of the contemporary farming lifestyle.