Horn
Book
(1999)
Addy's lyrical text traces the
changes the millennia have brought to a Wisconsin field, where a
modern-day farmer unearths a Civil War button, an ancient Indian
arrowhead, and an Ice Age bone. The artwork--saturated
watercolors flanked by soft pencil sketches of thematic motifs on
double-page spreads--complements the contemplative tone. Together they
quietly, evocatively put time in perspective. -- Copyright
© 1999 The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.
Publishers
Weekly (Sept.
27th, 1999)
In this lyrical homage
to humankind's relationship to the land, "this spot" is the
farm belonging to the narrator's grandfather, and as Grandpa digs a
ditch, he discovers clues to its past. The story of the land
begins with the Paleo-Indians of the Ice Age: "Indians in ancient
times/ lit a campfire/ on a glacial beach." In Addy's (A
Visit with Great-Grandma) stately text, spare language evokes the
changes of seasons and of centuries, and sets the stage for the
artifacts Grandpa uncovers: a mastodon bone, old Indian arrowheads and a
button from a Civil War uniform. Clapp, who exhibited his
talent for realistic landscapes with mystical qualities in The Stone
Fey, here juxtaposes a realistic painting of Grandpa driving his
tractor over the fields with a haunting portrait of the Indians, their
faces aglow by firelight, sitting under a full moon. This
illustration provides a graceful transition to the next spread of a
luminous moon that "rose and set,/ over and over,/ Season followed
season." Together, the text and art smoothly
convey the passage of time in this specific area near the southwestern
tip of Lake Michigan and chronicle it's progression from glacial beach
to Civil War battleground to what is now patchwork farmland.
Readers never see the child narrator, though the grandfather and
grandmother have cameo appearances; the effect of these predominantly
unpopulated landscapes creates a feeling of reverence for the book's
real main character----the land itself. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)
Kirkus
Reviews (August
1999)
This impressive picture
book shares a history of the land and its people with a grandfather on a
tractor drive through his cabbage field. The items that turn up are a
chipped stone tool from the time of the mastodon, a lost arrowhead from
centuries later, and a Civil War button. The brief main text is lyrical
and thoughtful, while the author concludes with a note describing how
Paleo-Indians came to the shores of Lake Michigan during the Ice Age;
how the Illinois and Potawatomi Indians came after the glaciers melted;
and how trappers, frontiersmen, and homesteaders came still later to
build the farms and houses still in existence in Wisconsin and Michigan.
Soft gray pencil drawings and double-page watercolors amplify
the text; Clapp is especially adept at capturing the sweep of sky and
the brown earth of the farm in broad bands of color, maximizing the
impact of the medium. An appealing introduction to archaeology, and to
the concept of continuity through the passing of time. (Picture
book. 6-10) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights
reserved.
Booklist
(October
15th, 1999)
Ages 4-8. A
simple poetic text and quiet watercolor-and-pencil landscapes introduce
children to archaeology by focusing on the passing of time in one
field---from prehistory to the present---and the different people who
lived there, what they did, and how we know about them from the things
they left behind. Where Grandpa drives a tractor in his cabbage
field in Wisconsin, Paleo-Indians of the Ice Age chipped stones into
tools and hunted mastodon. Time passed, the glaciers melted, and
new Indian people came, Illinois and Potawatomi. Over and over
the seasons changed. Then settlers came and cut trees to build a
cabin. A Civil War soldier walked the field and lost a button
there. The combination of what stays the same and the particulars
of what changes will fascinate kids and get them thinking about the
"hidden history" of where they live.------Hazel Rochman
School
Library Journal (November
1999)
K-Gr 2 ----
Following a picture of an elderly man on his tractor, a straightforward
text explains how the Paleo-Indians of the Ice Age once lived where his
farm stands today. Subsequent pages protray the melting of the glacier
and the growth of forest and farmland. Seasons pass; other
Indians, then settlers, then a soldier in the Civil War walk the land
until readers are ultimately brought to the present day, where Grandpa
unearths an old button, arrowheads, and a bone. Grandma arranges
for specialists to examine the archaeological treasures found
"right here on this spot..."
Clapp's watercolor-and-pencil illustrations depict the
land's progression with a gorgeous realism. This concept book
is a useful introduction to the rudiments of archaeology, but it does
not have the child appeal of George Ella Lyon's Who Came Down That
Road? (Orchard, 1996) The beginning offers no intriguing
catalyst for the lengthy discussion of geological and historical changes
that follows. Children will need an adult to interest them in
this one.. -- Jackie Hechtkopf, University of Maryland, College
Park..
Related
News
It isn't really a review, but I'm very pleased to announce
that Giant Steps Books &
Toys, has selected Right Here on This Spot as one of it's
"Picks of the Season". Thank You!" Giant Steps,
Sharon and I really appreciate it. Here's what they had to say on
their website:
BOOK REVIEWS FROM THE STAFF
The staff loves to read, and tries to stay current with all
the newest titles in the store. Here are their recommendations for
this season! Please note: neither the store nor the staff are paid for
these recommendations - we just like the books!
Right Here on This
Spot
Right here on this spot in ancient times there were people
who lived on a beach and hunted the huge mastodon. Right here on this
spot in this field thousands of years ago, Indians hunted deer for
their dinner. Right here on this spot hundreds of years ago, there
were settlers, who had to march off to war one day. You wouldn't know
it, looking at the field today with the cows and the chickens - how
can we know what happened right here on this spot? (Houghton Mifflin
hardback $15.00)(reviewed 1999 - dkh)
