You think that a National Park is just made up of trees, and dirt, and bugs, and bears? Well, some are, but some have humpback whales, alligators, juniper trees, beautiful sunsets, rivers, Spanish moss and so much more.
You can see all of that in I Am Made of Mountains as Alexandra S.D. Hinrichs’s narrator takes us on a journey of the National Parks of the country. From Hawaii to Alaska to Tennessee to Florida and all in-between, the poetic text tells us of wonderful things and adventures await in these parks. In side-boxes, there is actual factual information and not just the flowing poetry of the story. There are several afterwards that include more information about the individual parks and the system overall. There are even a couple of pages of reviews by kids of the parks they themselves have visited. The art of Vivian Mineker is delightful, sweet, and very colorful. One of the images has the girl in the forefront of the images, while her flowing hair almost matches with the juniper tree in her national park. The images bring to life a land, the wildlife and more. And the illustrated quality allows them to keep a more poetic tone to match and support the text.
Currently available, this was read via an online reader copy.
Now that you have read a few books by Hinrich (this and The Lobster Lady), you can pick up The Pocket Book illustrated by Julia Breckenreid in September 2023. This story is about a little girl who finds “treasures” and hides them in her pockets as that is what pockets are for. The story is simple, but not necessarily my “thing.” Though the sweet images are cute, and I liked “reading them” instead of just the text. Overall, it is a cozy book. Read by an online reader copy. While the images of the story are cute, it is the end pages that were my favorite. 
