All the Places to Love

MacLachlan's characteristically resonant language and Wimmer's majestic paintings affectingly celebrate the natural world and the family. Told in the voice of a child who lives on a farm with his parents and grandparents, the author's poetic narrative opens on the day of the boy's birth, when his grandmother holds him up to the open window, "So that what I heard first was the wind. / What I saw first were all the places to love: / The valley, / The river falling down over rocks, / The hilltop where the blueberries grew." The child introduces readers to the spots that each person in his family loves best: for his mother it is the hilltop where the sky is "an arm's length away"; for his grandfather, the dark, cool barn ("Where else, he says, can the soft sound of cows chewing / Make all the difference in the world?"). Only after the birth of his sister does the boy reveal his favorite place of all: the marsh "Where ducklings follow their mother / Like tiny tumbles of leaves." Whether focusing on a single, aging turtle or depicting a sweeping panorama, Wimmer's ( Train Song; Flight ) paintings beautifully convey the splendor of nature, as well as the deep affection binding three generations. This inspired pairing of words and art is a timeless, uplifting portrait of rural family life. All ages. (May)

K-Gr 3-"Where else can the soft sound of cows chewing make all the difference in the world?" asks Eli's grandfather about the barn he loves. There are other places on the farm that each family member finds special: the valley, the meadows, the hilltop where the blueberries grow, and the river falling over rocks. As young Eli recounts them simply and warmly, these places become living keepsakes that form a homage to their way of life. The ties of family members to one another and of family to farm are captured in the sweet, pastoral illustrations realistically painted in Norman Rockwellian style. The language has MacLachlan's signature spareness filled with emotion and sensitivity. As in her Three Names (HarperCollins, 1991), the personal reflections are heartwarming and touching. While Eli waits in the barn with his grandfather, the arrival of a new baby reaffirms the continuity of generations as Sylvie's name is added to those carved on a barn rafter. The use of questions such as: "Where else does an old turtle crossing the path make all the difference in the world?" help make the story relevant for young readers. Who else but MacLachlan could carry this off so lovingly.-Julie Cummins, New York Public Library