All the Places to Love by Patricia Maclachlan, Mike Wimmer (Illustrator), Michael Wimmer (Illustrator)

From Barnes & Noble

Growing up on his family's farm, young Eli learns that no matter where the rest of his life may take him, all the places to love are tied to simple pleasures and a primal connection with the land. Full-color paintings by Mike Wimmer. 9" x 11". Ages 6 & up

From the Publisher

Within the sanctuary of a loving family, baby Eli is born and, as he grows, "learns to cherish the people and places around him, eventualy passing on what he has discovered to his new baby sister, Sylvie: 'All the places to love are here . . . no matter where you may live.' This loving book will be something to treasure."'BL."The quiet narrative is so intensely felt it commands attention. . . . a lyrical celebration."'K.

Publishers Weekly

MacLachlan's characteristically resonant language and Wimmer's majestic paintings affectingly celebrate the natural world and the family. Told in the voice of a child who lives on a farm with his parents and grandparents, the author's poetic narrative opens on the day of the boy's birth, when his grandmother holds him up to the open window, ``So that what I heard first was the wind. / What I saw first were all the places to love: / The valley, / The river falling down over rocks, / The hilltop where the blueberries grew.'' The child introduces readers to the spots that each person in his family loves best: for his mother it is the hilltop where the sky is ``an arm's length away''; for his grandfather, the dark, cool barn (``Where else, he says, can the soft sound of cows chewing / Make all the difference in the world?''). Only after the birth of his sister does the boy reveal his favorite place of all: the marsh ``Where ducklings follow their mother / Like tiny tumbles of leaves.'' Whether focusing on a single, aging turtle or depicting a sweeping panorama, Wimmer's ( Train Song ; Flight ) paintings beautifully convey the splendor of nature, as well as the deep affection binding three generations. This inspired pairing of words and art is a timeless, uplifting portrait of rural family life. All ages. (May)

Children's Literature

MacLachlan's picture book presents a reassuring and poetic vision of the idyllic rural places that are important to a small boy because they have touched his life and comforted him. One of the most powerful scenes is the one where his grandfather carves the names of newly born in the barn rafters.

School Library Journal

K-Gr 3-``Where else can the soft sound of cows chewing make all the difference in the world?'' asks Eli's grandfather about the barn he loves. There are other places on the farm that each family member finds special: the valley, the meadows, the hilltop where the blueberries grow, and the river falling over rocks. As young Eli recounts them simply and warmly, these places become living keepsakes that form a homage to their way of life. The ties of family members to one another and of family to farm are captured in the sweet, pastoral illustrations realistically painted in Norman Rockwellian style. The language has MacLachlan's signature spareness filled with emotion and sensitivity. As in her Three Names (HarperCollins, 1991), the personal reflections are heartwarming and touching. While Eli waits in the barn with his grandfather, the arrival of a new baby reaffirms the continuity of generations as Sylvie's name is added to those carved on a barn rafter. The use of questions such as: ``Where else does an old turtle crossing the path make all the difference in the world?'' help make the story relevant for young readers. Who else but MacLachlan could carry this off so lovingly.-Julie Cummins, New York Public Library

BookList

An earnest, tender family portrait that parents will want to share with their children, especially when a new baby is due. MacLachlan conjures up an idyllic rural backdrop and introduces the members of a close-knit, extended family whose devotion to one another is part and parcel of their love for the rolling hills and woods that encircle them. Within this sanctuary, baby Eli is born, grows into childhood, and learns to cherish the people and places around him, eventually passing on what he has discovered to his little sister, Sylvie: "All the places to love are here . . . no matter where you may live." MacLachlan's lyrical narrative fixes the setting, lovely and quiet, while it tugs at the heartstrings. Wimmer's radiant, full-page paintings, a few so realistically detailed they look like color photographs, take us to the stream, across the fields, and into the barn, where Eli, with his grandfather, awaits the birth of baby Sylvie. But it's a flawless world that's pictured--not a real one. There's not a speck of dirt on Eli's nose, or a thunderstorm to break the peace. Still, both text and art will captivate parents longing for an affirmation of tradition and stability, and the heartwarming story will enchant children and grownups who understand the world as a safe and beautiful haven, filled with affection. For them, this loving book will be something to treasure.

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