For Spacious Skies: Katharine Lee Bates and the Inspiration for "America the Beautiful"

by Nancy Churnin, Olga Baumert (Illustrator)

Overview

Katharine Lee Bates first wrote the lines to "America the Beautiful" after a stirring visit to Pikes Peak in 1893. But the story behind the song begins with Katharine herself, who pushed beyond conventional expectations of women to become an acclaimed writer, scholar, suffragist, and reformer. Katharine believed in the power of words to make a difference, and in "America the Beautiful," her vision of the nation as a great family, united from sea to shining sea, continues to uplift and inspire us all.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807525302
Publisher:	Whitman, Albert & Company
Publication date:	04/01/2020
Series:	She Made History
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	305,898
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x (d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Nancy Churnin is the award-winning author of multiple picture book biographies. The former theater critic for the Dallas Morning News and Los Angeles Times San Diego Edition, she's now a full-time writer and peace negotiator between her dog and cats.

Olga Baumert is an artist, illustrator, and graphic designer. Originally from Poland, she studied fine art and jewelry-making before moving to the UK, where she received her degree in Graphic Design and Illustration at De Montfort University. She lives in England.

Editorial Reviews

"Nowadays, most people singing 'America the Beautiful' have no idea of the political and social context behind the poem Bates wrote. Churnin tells that story in a spare and lively text beautifully complemented by....Baumert's gorgeous panoramic illustrations.... A handsome volume befitting its subject."—Kirkus Reviews

"This picture book biography about a strong, smart woman and her contribution to American culture is a strong choice."—School Library Journal

"The story ends on a high note in 1920, with Bates casting her ballot after the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, which granted voting rights to women…The richly colored, nicely composed artwork will help children visualize the period setting while enjoying the portrayals of Bates and beautiful landscapes."—Booklist

A Mighty Girl's 2020 Books of the Year

From the Publisher

"The story ends on a high note in 1920, with Bates casting her ballot after the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment, which granted voting rights to women…The richly colored, nicely composed artwork will help children visualize the period setting while enjoying the portrayals of Bates and beautiful landscapes."—Booklist

Booklist

02/01/2020

Gr 1–4—Katharine Lee Bates (1859–1929) was a scholar and an author in a time when most women were not encouraged to pursue careers outside their homes. After Bates's father died at a young age, her mother raised Bates and her siblings alone. Bates graduated from Newton High School in Massachusetts and then enrolled in Wellesley College where she earned a Bachelor of Arts. She was part of the second graduating class (1880) and was honored as the class president and the class poet. From 1880 to 1925, she was an English professor at Wellesley and later became the chair of the English department. Bates was a prolific writer—she was the author of novels and textbooks, as well as poetry. Her most famous poem, "America the Beautiful," was inspired by her travels across the United States. The poem was set to music by Samuel A. Ward in 1910. The song was a strong contender for the National Anthem. Baumert's eye-catching artwork is reminiscent of the folkish aesthetic of early American paintings, which appropriately matches the narrative's historical setting. This history of "America the Beautiful" would be a very interesting story to compare to the making of the "Star-Spangled Banner." VERDICT This picture book biography about a strong, smart woman and her contribution to American culture is a strong choice for elementary libraries.—Debbie Tanner, S D Spady Montessori Elementary, FL

School Library Journal

2020-01-12
The story behind one of America's iconic songs.

Katharine Lee Bates grew up in Falmouth, Massachusetts, during the Civil War, so she knew about living in a divided country and experienced the unfairness of being a girl: "The boys she knew grew up to be fishermen or studied to become doctors or lawyers or businessmen. Girls learned to mend and cook." But she went to Wellesley College, helped to start a settlement house for immigrants, spoke out for world peace and women's suffrage, and became a college professor. On a train trip across the country in 1893, she marveled at Niagara Falls, the World's Fair in Chicago, and the endless fields of wheat in Kansas, but she also was aware of the plights of workers in mines, fields, and factories during the economic depression. When she saw grand vistas from the summit of Pikes Peak, she was inspired to write the first lines of a poem expressing her vision of a united nation, a land shared by all. Nowadays, most people singing "America the Beautiful" (melody by composer Samuel A. Ward) have no idea of the political and social context behind the poem Bates wrote. Churnin tells that story in a spare and lively text beautifully complemented by double-page spreads highlighting Baumert's gorgeous panoramic illustrations. Almost all characters are white. The text of a revised version of the poem concludes the volume.

A handsome volume befitting its subject. (author's note, timeline, sources, acknowledgments) (Picture book/biography. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews

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