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The Divide.
Michael Bedard. Illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully.
Subject Headings:
Grades 1 - 6 / Ages 6 - 11.
**** /4
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In the last few years, there have been several memorable picture
books published celebrating the unique beauty of the prairies. Jo
Bannatyne Cugnet's A Prairie Alphabet (1995) and David Bouchard's
If You're Not From the Prairie (1994) are just two outstanding
examples of what could be on the way to becoming a genre all of its
own. Michael Bedard's new picture book, The Divide, lovingly and
lavishly illustrated by award-winning artist Emily Arnold McCully,
falls neatly into such a genre. It is the story of nine-year-old
Willa Cather who, in 1883, moves with her family from the wooded
hills of her beloved Vermont home to the barren and inhospitable flat
lands of Nebraska. At first, Willa is repelled by her new
environment. She sits on her bed surrounded by the treasures she has
brought from her old home... "A music box, a scrapbook of cloth, a
few books and seashells - memories. She would not put them out; she
could not stay. No one could live in such a place." Slowly,
however, with the arrival of spring, the landscape comes to life.
During the long, hot summer that follows, Willa begins to explore her
surroundings on the back of her pony. She discovers a pond where
ducks come, a solitary elm beneath which she sits to watch a hawk
turn circles in a sky "... as bright as blue enamel." She meets her
neighbours, settlers who are "...scattered like wildflowers in the
low places on the land." and who love this strange harsh country.
She begins to see the land with their eyes. "It seemed beautiful to
her now, strong and still and free." Bedard's poetic language
stimulates the inner eye of our imagination while McCully's delicate
and richly-hued illustrations provide our outer eyes with a
complementary visual feast. The Divide is a truly beautiful and
soul-satisfying marriage of prose and pictures.
The connection between Willa Cather, as a writer, and her years on the Nebraska prairie is made clear by way of an "Afterword" in which the author tells readers that Cather's most famous novels were about the first settlers on the Divide; their courage, strength and devotion to the land. In The Divide, as in his previous picture book about Emily Dickinson, entitled Emily, Michael Bedard has given us a wonderful opportunity to interest young people in a great literary figure. Parents and teachers should find The Divide's lyrical text and poignant paintings a joy to share with children.
Highly recommended.
Valerie Nielsen is teacher-librarian at Bairdmore Elementary School in Winnipeg, MB.
To comment on this title or this review, send mail to cm@umanitoba.ca.
Copyright © 1997 the Manitoba Library Association. Reproduction for personal use is permitted only if this copyright notice is maintained. Any other reproduction is prohibited without permission.
Published by
The Manitoba Library Association
ISSN 1201-9364
TABLE OF CONTENTS FOR THIS ISSUE - October 31, 1997.
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