A starred review in Publisher's Weekly begins:
"As she so eloquently did in Roxaboxen, McLerran
once more immortalizes a piece of land in the
Southwest by describing a family's emotional
attachment to it. . . . [Kimberly Bulcken Root's]
watercolors capture the vibrant and ever-changing
palette of bright stars and sumptuous sunsets
found in the desert landscape." They also capture
the love and courage with which Papa's family support his attempt
to make the desert "blossom as the rose"
-- without prior experience in agriculture.
In real life my grandfather was indeed no farmer;
the "ranch" he homesteaded in 1919 outside Yuma netted about
$12 during the memorable year upon which this story is based.
But his vision was a sound one, and today the land outside Yuma
is indeed the "garden" he knew it could become.
This book was another ABA Pick-of-the-List,
and in 1997 was also chosen as a Notable Children's Trade Book
in the Field of Social Studies.
But although I'm not the only one who loves this book, Viking decided at the beginning of 2000 to let it go out of print. I immediately bought up all the stock I can afford, to make sure that there will be copies for the schools I visit.
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