America the Beautiful
illustrated by Wendell Minor
written by Katharine Lee Bates
Penguin Putnam, 2003
ages 4 to 8, ISBN 978-0399238857

Inspired by Katharine Lee Bates' classic verse, Wendell Minor gives readers his first picture book—beautiful visual accompaniment for an American standard. Traversing the entire nation, from the Empire State Building to the Grand Tetons, from the Alaskan coast to the Florida Everglades; encompassing multiple eras, from Pilgrims to wagon trains, from the Wright brothers to NASA, Minor takes us on a journey across land and time-literally from sea to shining sea.

Rachel: The Story of Rachel Carson
illustrated by Wendell Minor
written by Amy Ehrlich
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2003
ages 4 to 8, ISBN 978-0152162276

Rachel Carson was always curious about the world around her. As a girl, she loved being outside, always exploring and wanting to know more about the universe. As an adult, Rachel wrote books about what she loved—including Silent Spring, a book that changed the world.

Into the Woods :
John James Audubon Lives His Dream
illustrated by Wendell Minor
written by Robert Burleigh
Simon & Schuster, 2003
ages 4 to 8, ISBN 978-0689830402

As a young man, John James Audubon, the renowned American woodsman and artist, had to make a choice between following his father's dreams for him and discovering his own special destiny. In this beautifully conceived book, Robert Burleigh imagines a conversation in which Audubon tells his father why he has chosen to forgo the ordinary life of a shop-keeper and instead live out in nature to develop his art and his relationship with the world.

The Red Badge of Courage
illustrated by Wendell Minor
written by Stephen Crane
Simon & Schuster, 2002
young adult, ISBN 978-0689820007

As important a book today as it was when it was first written, The Red Badge of Courage tells the story of Henry Fielding, a farm boy who sets out in search of glory by running away from home to join the Civil War, only to find himself running away from the battlefield in terror during the first skirmish. Mortified by his cowardice, Henry yearns for a wound, his own red badge of courage, which would legitimize his desertion of his company. When Henry is finally wounded, he finds himself feeling real anger for the very first time, and finally is able to redeem himself.

Shaker Hearts
illustrated by Wendell Minor
written by Ann Warren Turner
David R. Godine Publishers, 2002
ages 4 to 8, ISBN 978-1567922318

The religious sect known as Shakers, who at their height (ca. 1825) probably only numbered around 4000, has always exerted a profound influence on the American imagination. Founded by Mother Ann Lee in the eighteenth century, they soon had active communities throughout the Midwest and as far south as Kentucky. Although living communities have all but disappeared, their influence survives—in everything from the clothes pin to the seed packet. Their spare motto, "Hands to Work, Hearts to God" is repeated like a mantra in the charming rhymed text by Ann Turner. Coupled with the chaste, sensitive, almost elegiac paintings by artist Wendell Minor, this lovely paperback reprint brings back the virtues of hard work, simple needs, and rural living.

We Were There
illustrated by Wendell Minor
written by Eve Bunting
Clarion Books, 2001
ages 4 to 8, ISBN 0395822653

On a winter night long ago, a baby boy was born in a stable with only the animals to witness his arrival. But it wasn"t just the cows and donkeys and soft little lambs who were present. Smaller, less loved creatures were there, too: the snake, the scorpion, the cockroach, and others. Lyrically written by Eve Bunting and luminously illustrated by Wendell Minor, this beautiful book offers a unique and moving perspective on the Christmas story. It reminds us that all God"s creatures, both great and small, celebrated the arrival of the Christ child.

Shane
illustrated by Wendell Minor
written by Jack Schaefer
Houghton Mifflin, 2001
ages 9 to 12, ISBN 978-0395941164

A stranger rode out of the heart of the great glowing West, into the small Wyoming valley in the summer of 1889. It was Shane, who appeared on the horizon and became a friend and guardian to the Starrett family at a time when homesteaders and cattle rangers battled for territory and survival. Jack Schaefer's classic novel illuminates the spirit of the West through the eyes of a young boy and a hero who changes the lives of everyone around him. Renowned artist Wendell Minor provides stunning images and a moving introduction to this new edition of Shane, the ultimate tale of the Western landscape.

Abe Lincoln Remembers
illustrated by Wendell Minor
written by Ann Warren Turner
HarperCollins, 2001
ages 4 to 8, ISBN 978-1439551103

One evening in 1865 President Abraham Lincoln sits quietly in the White House. He is waiting for his wife, Mary. Tonight they will go to the theater to see a play. It has been a long time since the President has allowed himself an evening of rest. While he waits, he thinks back on his life and the long journey from a small log cabin in Kentucky to the stately White House in Washington, a journey filled with the greatest joys and the deepest sorrows. Extraordinarily moving text and stunning, historically accurate paintings join together to present a fictional portrait of one of the most revered figures in American history.

The Call of the Wild
illustrated by Wendell Minor
written by Jack London
Aladdin Books, 1999
ages 9 to 12, ISBN 978-0689818363

In this quintessential adventure story, Jack London takes readers on an arduous journey through the forbidding Alaskan landscape during the gold rush of the 1890s. Buck, a rangy mixed breed used to a comfortable, sun-filled life as a family dog, is stolen by a greedy opportunist and sold to dog traffickers. The superb detail, taken from London's firsthand knowledge of Alaskan frontier life, makes this classic tale as gripping today as it was almost a hundred years ago. Now, paired with master illustrator Wendell Minor's exquisite paintings, this timeless story is available in a handsome new addition to the Scribner Illustrated Classics collection.

Morning, Noon, and Night
illustrated by Wendell Minor
written by Jean Craighead George
HarperCollins, 1999
ages 4 to 8, ISBN 978-0060236281

Celebrate the cycle of the day, as the earth turnes to and then away from the sun, and meet a wide array of animals from America's east coast to the west as they work and rest, eat and play, just as humans do.

Jean Craighead George's lyrical greeting to the day becomes a sweeping panorama of the American countryside with Wendell Minor's evocative, dramatic paintings.