God Bless America Words and music by Irving Berlin and Illustrations by Lynn Munsinger grants to Little Singer, Readers the wonderful words to one of our most respected patriotic songs.
Each page features one child size phrase in addition to a page filling, well-executed illustration representing the phrase in full color. Each drawing shows a little sis, her older brother and their dad or mom. The little loyalists are good-looking, clothing attired bears.
Page one God Bless America shows little sis, her doll bear set aside, helping Dad, raising Old Glory to the uppermost of the flag pole as brother, hand on his heart, salutes.
The faithful bears journey across the nation, Land that I love, cossing plains, small towns and major cities. On one stopover, Stand Beside Her, the family appreciates a pageant with marching fire men, police officers, community workers And guide her now is seen the family visiting the Lincoln Memorial in our nation’s capital.
Through the night with a light from above, and the family, standing on a ferry, peers through the shadowy dusk at the skyline jam-packed with tall and short structures. From the Mountains and we see the jacket clad family enjoying toasting marshmallows over a campfire near their tent; where bed rolls await.
To the prairies, and the family enjoys a visit to a family farmstead, and wanders through a field of waving wheat, To the oceans white with foam, where we see swim suit clad Papa and sis ready for a saunter along the beach, brother has a sand scoop, bucket, and small boat.
God Bless America, fireworks are seen in the sky above their head, while watching from the crown found at the highest point of the Statue of Liberty is located the flag waving trio.
My home sweet home brother is now waving readers a pleasant goodbye from an open window, sis can be seen through the open front door. She is joyously hugging her mom as Papa stands nearby.
Subsequent to the song in phrase and illustration, is a well portrayed, two page spread with the music staff and notes themselves and an assembly of little singers representing children from around the world; as is found in our nation.
Note: on the last pages at the end of the book we learn: ‘Trustees of the God Bless America Fund have worked to ensure funding be allocated also for New York City children impacted with the tragic events of Sep 11, 2001.’
God Bless America is one of the patriotic songs I taught each of my 30+ years with students attending Public School K 1 classes as well as 2 years with 4th grade students. It is one of my personal long time favorites of our nation’s loyalty, patriotic songs.
I found this specific picture book to be flawless for use with K 1 level students, they adore the depictions of baby sis, brother and dad traversing our homeland, and, swiftly picked up the phrase represented as I ‘sang’ the book to them cover to cover during our morning reading together time, or our evening on the rug listening to reading before time to go home at end of the day.
Illustrator/artist Lynn Munsinger has done a marvelous job showing the fully outfitted little bears in their T-shirts, dungarees and ‘tennies’. The illustration of little sis in her little pink swim suit always drew positive comments as students exclaimed they or their sibling ‘have one just like it.’
I specially found beneficial the variable portrayals of our country, the variety and landscape, the men and women who labor at occupations that in fact assist our country to help keep us all safe from whatever conflict, climate, wrongdoing, poverty, ailment, or thoughtless chaos may create, on top of memorials portending those principles we as a nation find imperative.
God Bless America proved to be most popular with each class as I used it in the classroom, and, I am happy to recommend for school and public libraries, primary class reading shelf, the home library of books for use reading to young children, and for older children to read/sing during their own personal pleasure reading time.
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Reviewed by: MOLLY REVIEWS BOOKS molly martin
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http://www.AuthorsDen.com/mjhollingshead
35+ years classroom teacher
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Berlin BIOGRAPHY includes :
From the last page of the book, the song was published in 1938. Mr Berlin set up a 'God Bless America' Fund to benefite American youth. Most the earnings from 'God Bless America' have been donated to Girls Scouts and Boy Scouts councils in New York. Mr and Mrs Berlin were personally involved with the organizations.
Lynn Munsinger's Simon and Shuster biography indicates the artist was born in Massachusetts.
She has illustrated more than ninety books for children -- bringing Wodney Wat, Tacky the Penguin, a porcupine named Fluffy, the Teeny Tiny Ghost, and Ogden Nash's Custard the Dragon to charming life. Her watercolor illustrations have been praised for their "classic quality" (Publishers Weekly) and "mix of wry humor and affection" (Booklist).
Ron