One of my lifetime dreams is to visit some national parks in the US. This book made me want to go even more. It's beautiful and educational without ever getting boring.

An awesome picture book that gets kids to understand the importance of the America's beauty and nature. By using the Natural parks that are apart of our country.

The bold colors of the artwork in this book are perfectly matched to the vibrancy of the national parks it praises. This is not a naturalistic style, but instead captures the broad strokes of natural scenes. One quarter of each 2-page spread, at maximum, is preserved as whitespace for the text, to make it easier to read. However, this quarter often also has some decoration, which helps to break what would have been a monotonous design. Plants, water, and even animals overflow the borders, showing off another untamed part of the parks.

The text has two main parts: a little poem, which goes through the whole book (excepting the informational section at the end) and a more detailed paragraph describing a natural phenomena in each park.

The book ends with a text-heavy two pages on the history of the national park system, and I was pleased to see that a bit of criticism was included, highlighting the racist policies used to exile native people (and, later, vilified immigrant groups) from their homes to establish the parks.

This would be a great starting place for a classroom unit on the parks, before assigning each child a park to research. Also a good pick for reading before your own trip into nature!

Advanced reader copy provided by the publisher.

A love song to America's beloved national parks. This book introduces young readers to a wide array of national parks across the country with lyrical text and engaging facts. The book also includes extensive backmatter. The art is colorful, bold, and beautiful, showing the rich variety to be found throughout the parks.

In this informational picture book, sixteen national parks are celebrated in rhyming text, accompanied by sidebars in smaller print that spell out facts about that park. The rhyming text is in first person from the park’s point of view and would make a great readaloud: “I am made of groves; I tower, stretch, and sweep. Heart rushing like a waterfall, one loud and daring leap.” The author’s note at the end spells out how many park lands were acquired by force from the Indigenous people who had lived there for centuries or were subject to Jim Crow laws. The full-color, digitally created illustrations depict significant aspects of each park and feature human visitors of all ethnicities. The endpapers contain a map of the U.S. showing the locations of the parks.

I appreciate the book for its ability to draw children in and share nature with them. The poem is beautiful and captured my childrens attention although it was short. “If it’s important to you that your family library avoids or includes books with depictions of LGBTQ families, it should be noted that this book does include these illustrations.

This lyrical picture book celebrates the beauty and nature of our U.S. National Parks. I Am Made of Mountains features sixteen national parks, with a different child visiting each. From Maine to Hawaii, the rhymes and beautiful illustrations highlight the awe and wonder that keep visitors returning to the parks again and again.

The pictures in this book really are the star as far as I'm concerned. Paired with the lyrical quality of the writing, I Am Made of Mountains draws the reader in immediately. Each layout contains a good amount of writing without being overwhelming. This book would make a wonderful addition to a states or parks study, or as a fun read aloud for a summer road trip.

*Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher. All opinions are my own.

WHEN I TELL YOU HOW I WEPT THROUGHOUT THIS BOOK, I AM SO SERIOUS.

It was absolutely stunning. The story! The illustrations! The love for the National Park System! UGH! It moved me so, so greatly. I thought it was absolutely magnificent and I want everyone I know to own a copy.

Beautiful, playful, & educational!
As a family who has visited many national parks, we love this book!
We are huge nature lovers (we got married in a national park!) and we have been blessed to show our children a handful of parks! T
his book was a mix of playful & educational. The artwork in this book is breathtaking, inclusive & phenomenal.
If you are a national park family and want to add another book to your bookshelf, this is the one for you!

This is so cute! I loved reading the rhymes and the little vignettes about the different places. The inclusive drawings are fabulous and show that anyone, no matter who you are, can go and visit these places and enjoy them. There are a lot of things you can do with this book in the classroom.

This book is a lyrical appreciation of some of our national parks. It is written very simply and includes a brief description of the parks featured. I wish it was more in depth so that it would be more interesting for older children. However, it would be a great introduction for older children and easily accessible led to younger children as well.

In I Am Made of Mountains, 16 national parks use their own voice to share what makes them special and differentiates them from all the others. Highlighting interesting facts and the diversity of the parks through lyrical prose, this book educates young readers⸺both orally and visually⸺about the offerings in national parks, while challenging them to think about what makes them and others unique.

Diversity is at the heart of this book. Written as a series of rhymes laced with the facts, this picture book highlights the differences in landscape and location of each park featured; diversity in the activities offered to park-goers; and, diversity in races and abilities of individuals exploring the parks. One of my favorite parts of I Am Made of Mountains are the open-ended questions the author leaves readers to contemplate on their own.

Whether you’re interested in introducing your child to national parks or exploring the theme of diversity, I Am Made of Mountains is a great addition to your bookshelf.

⭐⭐⭐⭐ -- Cute cover on this book!

"I Am Made of Mountains by Alexandra S.D. Hinrichs" is a beautiful and inspiring picture book that celebrates the beauty of the National Parks across the United States. This lyrical book takes readers on a journey through sixteen different parks, exploring their diverse landscapes and highlighting their unique features.

The illustrations are colorful and cute, perfectly capturing the spirit of each location. The expansive artwork complements the text beautifully, making each page an immersive and engaging experience for readers of all ages.

One of the best things about this book is its inclusion of fun little facts about each park. These snippets of information add depth to the narrative and help kids learn more about the great outdoors.

Overall, I Am Made of Mountains is a splendid gift for any nature-loving young one. It's a beautiful celebration of America's National Parks that will inspire readers to get out there and explore all that our country has to offer.

**ARC Via NetGalley**

I felt the text could be more engaging, especially as it is aimed at children, but I loved the subject matter. It was a nice summary of things that each national park is known for and the illustrations were beautifully done. Lots of inclusiveness in the images.

I really love the concept of this book. There are so many beautiful National Parks that deserve the spotlight and this book will be sure to inspire some adventures. Where the book misses the mark for me is the rhyming stanzas. For an informational book to work as a lyrical text, the rhymes need to be perfect and these ones felt forced at times. There were fact boxes that shared a few extra details about the parks but ultimately this book did not quite land for me as a picture book or as an informational book. The illustrations were nice enough but lacked the dramatic colours and composition of a truly stunning landscape. A nice book but did not meet my expectations.

I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. I cannot even put into words how much I love this book! I will definitely be buying it! Loved the illustration and the fun facts about each National Park! It makes me want to jump in a car or plane to check them out for myself. I loved seeing that the illustrator included someone in a wheelchair, inclusion is so important. This book was just perfect in every way!

I adored this picture book. The text is lyrical and the pictures are lovely. I also enjoyed the additional facts about each of the parks on the pages. This is a must have for all lovers of the national parks, especially parents of young children. I highly recommend.

Although I wished more parks had been detailed, this is a lovely introduction for children to our nation's national parks. My only real quibble with the book is a personal one. Those of us who grew up with puzzles and maps depicting Alaska and Hawaii everywhere but where they are truly located would probably understand my rolled eyes. Okay, off my soapbox.

The parks selected are each illustrated with a colorful, simple but representative drawing depicting the parks showcase views. There's a short, poetic/lyrical included for each, plus a more detailed information box. The various park visitors shown are diverse not just in race but age, plus one shows a child in a wheelchair enjoying the park. While some parks are genuintely are easier to access than others, that was a nice, subtle reminder that our national parks are for everyone. I enjoyed illustrator Vivian Mineker's artwork.

Finally, at the end, there is even more detailed information provided, ranging from efforts to make the parks more available, to some of their less PG past, ie "Troubled Beginnings". My hunch is this info was for parents/adults but could easily lead to interesting discussions. Finally, a page made up of comments made by children who have visited various parks. My favorite was from the 8 year old who noted that the parks give the sky a break. "Huh?", you ask? They continued to explain it was from the almost overwhelming presence of artificial light, allowing all, including the animals who live there, to experience the sky more vividly and naturally. Well, they didn't use those words but that was the gist of it all.

Bottom line, a nice intro to our national parks. I couldn't quite catch the lyrical rhythm of the verse at times but overall it worked nicely. Thanks #NetGalley and #Charlesbridge for allowing me to take this virtual trip around our park system.

I Am Made of Mountains highlights National Parks in the United States. It was informative, and the illustrations were captivating. While the main text celebrations National Parks, the material at the end discusses the negative impact of these parks. It seemed like a contradiction to the main text which might confuse young readers.

Thank you to the author, illustrator, publisher, and NetGalley for an arc in exchange for an honest review.

Alexandra's book about National Parks is a perfect way to blend poetry and facts about the beautiful world in which we live. Portions of the book are perfect for younger readers who want to see pretty pictures, but with facts and further discussion on the history of the parks for older readers.

A must-read for nature lovers.