Prairie Days

Elaborate sun-filled spreads by Archer (Daniel's Good Day) illuminate Newbery Medalist MacLachlan's farm-life memories in this dazzling picture book. The writer's childhood recollections unspool informally, fondly, as if being recalled for family members: "There were small towns with names we loved--/ Sunrise, Rattlesnake, Chugwater, and Spotted Horse." She knits simple words into lines of beauty: "Where I was born, the earth smelled of cattle and bluegrass and hyssop." Archer's hypnotic images show the prairie stretching out like an ocean, its hues and substance changing and fading toward the horizon. In work of remarkable intricacy, dozens of strips of paper painted in yellows, blues, and greens are cut fine and laid out to represent the long, even furrows of farm fields; lace curtains undulate in a breeze. MacLachlan's memories unfold over one long day, beginning with an orange sun rising and ending with a bed, "where we read under quilts," and a yellow summer moon. Together, words and pictures create a sense of endless space and ample time. Childhoods as free as this one are not as common as they once were; borrowing MacLachlan's is the next best thing. Ages 4-8. (May)

Copyright 2020 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

K-Gr 3--This charming story was inspired by MacLachlan's childhood. She recalls waking up with the sun on a summer morning on the prairie. She tells of long, hot summer days spent laying in fields with the smell of wild roses or riding horses on country lanes. With other children she would run and shriek and play kick the can until the darkness came and they returned to bed, reading under the covers while the moon rose yellow. With short, descriptive phrases MacLachlan remembers the beauty of farm life, and the offset portions of text bring rhythm to the words. The paper collage illustrations add intricate texture and detail to the deceptive simplicity of the prairie landscape. Sunrises and sunsets are built with layer upon layer of textured paper so that the landscape fills the page from corner to corner. Nostalgia bleeds into the illustrations, some of which have a scrapbook feel, such as the spread that features store shelves lined with black-and-white images cut out of old catalogues. The human figures are tiny and found nestled into the scenes on most pages, fitting for a story that places them in contrast to the majesty of a beautiful prairie landscape. VERDICT Recommended for purchase.--Laken Hottle, Providence Community Library

Copyright 2020 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

"With short, descriptive phrases MacLachlan remembers the beauty of farm life, and the offset portions of text bring rhythm to the words...the paper collage illustrations add intricate texture and detail to the deceptive simplicity of the prairie landscape. The human figures are tiny and found nestled into the scenes on most pages, fitting for a story that places them in contrast to the majesty of a beautiful prairie landscape." - School Library Journal