TULIP SEES AMERICA

Inspired by her own journey westward, Rylant puts a young traveler and his dog, Tulip, into a green VW Beetle and sends them from Ohio to Oregon. Each state brings a new wonder: farms in Iowa, skies “like one great long breath of freedom and air” in Nebraska, wind in Wyoming, mountains in Colorado, a wide desert in Nevada, a sudden ocean in Oregon. Using computer-manipulated oil paintings, Desimini creates a series of full-bleed, undulant landscapes with the strong shadows and compressed perspectives of dioramas. The title is hyperbolic, but Rylant’s poetic language and the art’s striking forms and colors communicate equal strength and intensity of feeling. (Picture book. 5-8)