All the Places to Love - Patricia MacLachlan

Illustrated by Mike Wimmer, with paintings
Harper Collins, 1994
32 pgs.
Rating: 4.5

"Dedicated to my grandparents....for their sity-four years of marriage which serve as the mortar that binds my family togther." M.W.

From the beginning "On the day I was born
My grandmother wrapped me in a blanket
made from the wool of her sheep."

to the end:

"All the places to love are here, I'll tell her,
no matter where you may live.
Where else, I will say: does an old turtle crossing the path
Make all the difference in the world?"

This book is a description of place using the senses and beautiful language, including similes galore. It tells of each family member's favorite place, and is a gorgeous model and touchstone for teaching kids how to write about place.

Beautiful, just beautiful.

"My grandmother loved the river best
of all the places to love.
That sound, like a whisper, she said;
Gathering in pools
Where trout flashed like jewels in the sunlight.
Grandmother sailed little bark boats downriver to me
with messages.
I Love You Eli, one said."

The Visit - Reeve Lindbergh

illustrator: Wendy Anderson Halperin
2005
Rating: 4
Endpapers: cream with photos-animals-food-flowers "sprinkled" around

Two sisters travel to the country for a visit with their Aunt Laura and Uncle Ted. Written in rhyming stanzas where first and fourth lines repeat:

Highway and country lane, dirt road and dust,
Beth watches leaves whirling up in a gust.
Jill sees a mailbox covered with rust.
Highway and country lane, dirt road and dust.

and

Maple tree, willow tree, poplar and pine.
Beth watches swallows, swooping to dine.
Jill finds a lost kite, tangled n twine.
Maple tree, willow tree, poplar and pine.

Illustrations: arched "window" to view 2/3 of page, four smaller rectangular illustrations below - lots to see - pencil, watercolor, lots of detail.