When I think of how I want to represent the Fourth of July to my children, I am flooded with feelings. Perhaps it is because our country is so large and diverse, or perhaps the uniqueness of its history creates a wealth of images--and there are many books which bring this alive.
Diane Siebert and Wendell Minor add Sierra to their series of books that extoll the majesty of different parts of our country, sentient tours of different regions. As in Mojave and Heartland, the Sierra itself tells the story, telling of old and new mountains, great sequoias, birds and beasts with a repeated chorus, "I am the mountain/Tall and grand./ And like a sentinel I stand." The rhyming scheme is true without sacrificing the meaning. Paintings by Wendell Minor are a great tribute to both the Sierra Nevadas and Ms. Siebert's text. Ages 6-12. (HarperCollins, 1991)
Rarely have I been so touched by the love of country as when I visited the Vietnam Veteran's Memorial in Washington, D.C. Eve Bunting's The Wall is the story of a small boy and his father who go to find the boy's grandfather's name on the wall. While searching, the boy sees other people visiting and remembrances left behind by even more visitors. Ronald Himler's illustrations echo the kinds of scenes I saw when I went to The Wall. At one point the boy hears a teacher tell a school group, "The names are the names of the dead. But the wall is for all of us." Ms. Bunting's verse is gentle but she allows us to vision through the eyes of a child, war, grief, missing a grandfather never known, the many men who died to show their love of country and the drama of the shiny, black wall stretching to honor them. Ages 4-9. (Clarion, 1990)
American independence was born of the desire for liberty and if I had to choose one thing July 4th celebrates, it would be freedom. There are many children's books that give literary expression to the spirit on which our country was founded, and I think it is stories that speak of the danger of loss of freedom that give children understanding about this ellusive quality. Of late there have been many expressions of this that cross cultures and countries.
If there were one group known for living freely, it would have to be the Gypsies. Savina, the Gypsy Dancer weaves her love of autonomy and the earth's pleasures into her dance and all that see her are captivated. King Walid fears this power and would control the young girl, but her people will not desert her, nor will they let her sacrifice her freedom. The fleeing people are tormented by Walid, their horses, tents, and means of support are taken from them. And yet, at each stage of deprivation, they experience being less encumbered and treasure more all the joys of simple life and family. Finally, nearly all that is left them is dancing and Savina, the finest dancer of all vanquishes Walid's attacking men by drawing them into dance and exhausting them all. The wealth of their experience is well-recorded by the senses-based telling by Ann Tompert. Dennis Nolan's oils are rich and the fluidity of his brush-strokes are also a strong accent for Tompert's tale. Ages 4-8. (Macmillan, 1991)
And from other shores comes a re-telling of an Icelandic tale by David Wisniewski. Elfwyn's Saga tells of a young blind girl whose sight is clearer than all of her peoples. When two tribes desire settlement on the same shore, Elfwyn's clan arrives first and is cursed by Gorm, leader of the other peoples. To undo his enemies, Gorm presents them with a "gift". A crystal in whose reflection each clansman sees a vision of an unattainable dream. Dissatisfaction, discontent, and virtual enslavement to the crystal follow. Only Elfwyn, in her blindness, can see the realities and courageously destroys the instrument of Gorm's Doom, winning back the freedom of her people and their profound respect. Wisniewsk shows the patience and attention of Elfwyn in his intricate paper cut illustrations. Ages 4-8. (Lothrop, 1990)
Katherine Paterson's The Tale of the Mandarin Ducks is a re-telling of a Japanese folk tale. In it we view the tyranny of a household of a proud and cruel lord. The lord hates his steward Shozo, who has once been a mighty samurai, because of a battle-earned disfigurement. Both Shozo and Yasuko, a kitchen maid, sorrow at the Lord's imprisonment of a beautiful mandarin drake who languishes in captivity and finally Yasuko releases the bird who pines for his mate. Linked by punishment and a glowing love, they become even more hated by the lord and are sentenced to death. Rescued by two mysterious "imperial messengers" who are none other than the mandarin ducks, the two are led to a beautiful hidden hut where they live out their years in freedom and love. Ages 4-8. (Lodestar, 1990)
One can't of course speak of freedom without remember the long struggle slaves had to gain their liberty. Jeanette Winter's Follow the Drinking Gourd tells the story of old white sailor named Peg Leg Joe. Joe worked on plantation after plantation teaching slaves the song which contained elements that would guide them along the Underground Railway. Part of the story shows an extended family, inspired by Joe, actually traveling North to their independence. Winter's emotive illustrations are in a folk tradition which fit well with her text. Ages 4-8. (Knopf, 1988)
For older readers, the same subject is examined by Doreen Rappaport's Escape From Slavery: Five Journeys to Freedom. Courage and ingenuity mark these stories that are told in such a present kind of way, the reader has an emotional journey fearing and triumphing in the success of heroines like Eliza who swam her baby to freedom on melting ice or Ellen Johnson who posed as a frail white master and traveled with her black husband as slave manservant. Ages 7-11. (HarperCollins, 1991)