Everything that gives richness to poetry is found in this small masterpiece. Besides its satisfying rhyming tetrameter, it has alliteration (�windowed walls,� �plows, and planters,� �scrape the skies�); onomatopoeia (�sprawl,� �sprout,� �draped�); assonance (�green between,� �feed-and-seed�); and consonance (�seasons passing,� �farms, whose barns�).
Siebert�s use of figurative language brings to mind the poetry of Carl Sandburg. Just as Sandburg attributed human characteristics to the city of Chicago, Siebert personifies the Midwest. The refrain �I am the Heartland� is repeated ten times in the poem, and the Land provides the voice of the narrator. This metaphor is sustained and reinforced throughout the poem with expressions like �I sing,� �I can feel,� �I have learned,� and �I survive.�
The image of a quilt covering the earth is another effective metaphor that is used by the poet:
�A quilt of life I proudly wear;
A patchwork quilt laid gently down
In hues of yellow, green, and brown . . .
A patchwork quilt whose seams are etched
By miles of wood and wire stretched.�
Unusual comparisons make Siebert�s use of simile especially striking: � . . . barns and silos stand like treasures in my fertile hand.�
Sensory images conjure the smells, sights, and sounds of the Heartland. The �golden waves� of the cornfields, �the lush green grass,� and the �bales of hay, all green and gold� reinforce a rich visual image of farmlands. The sounds of �blizzards howling� and �cities beating� combine with the �touch of autumn�s chill� and the �smell of livestock� that fills the air to place the reader into the sensually rich setting.
The watercolor paintings by Wendell Minor are a worthy complement to the text. Rendered with exceptional sensitivity, they convey a sense of the power and breadth that characterize the great plains of America. Unusual perspectives include the farm viewed over the shoulder of a cow and the wintry landscape glimpsed from the perch of a barn owl. The actual layout of the book is artistically pleasing, as well. The art, framed by fine black lines, covers three-fourths of a double spread, with the text occupying the remaining white space. The shape of the book, wider than it is tall, lends itself to panoramic scenes without compromising room for the poem itself.
In spite of the artful rendering of the book, it has not received universally positive reviews. School Library Journal mocked it as �an idealization and romanticization of a way of life that does not exist and never did.� (May 1, 1989) Booklist (March 1, 1989), on the other hand, describes the book as �a stunning collaboration of lyrical verse and evocative paintings that pulse with life and power.�
While young children will appreciate the rhyme and rhythm of the poetry as well as the larger-than-life illustrations, it will be older readers who find that one reading just will not do. It is human nature to idealize what we love, and this is the gift Siebert and Minor have given their readers in Heartland � a warmly comforting glimpse of �America, my home,� as we hold it in our hearts.
Awards for Heartland
Booklist Children�s Editors Choices
Notable Children�s Trade Books in Social Studies
Notable Trade Books in the Language Arts
John Burroughs Association Young Reader Award
Related Websites
Wendell Minor�s Art: http://www.minorart.com
Mojave by Diane Siebert: http://www.stanford.edu/%7Ejkay/poems/
Sources
Books in Print [database online]. Available from http://www.booksinprint.com. Accessed 07 October 2004.
Minor, Wendell. 2004. Wendell Minor�s art. Available from http://www.minorart.com. Accessed 07 October 2004.
School of Library and Information Studies
TEXAS WOMAN'S UNIVERSITY