Originally published in the Winter + Spring 2020 issue.
Planet Earth is our home. With each changing season, the need to love and protect it becomes more obvious and urgent. This new season debuts a stunning children’s picture book which showcases that message. It is a masterpiece of text and colorful artwork for all ages to share and it belongs in every personal or public book collection — a perfect coffee table addition or holiday gift! Adults and children alike will enjoy pouring over the beautiful oversize paintings and thoughtful prose.
“You Are Home” is written and illustrated by Colorado native, Evan Turk.
Although Evan now lives in the Hudson Valley in upstate New York, he grew up in the west and traveled extensively as a boy with his Park Service family. His newest work is a testament to our National Parks, but it is much, much more.
To quote his publisher, “From the rugged coast of Maine to the fiery volcanoes of Hawaii, Turk’s stirring ode to nature and nation reminds us that every animal, plant and person is an integral part of what makes this planet a brilliant, beautiful sanctuary of life.”
Many books celebrate the natural wonders and wildlife found in our U.S. National Parks, but Turk honors people as much as places. Timely, powerful passages in his poetic words and images nod equally to those who have “just left first footprints on new shores” and to “ancestors who lived on these lands before the stars and stripes took them as their own.” From the Native Americans to the Chinese immigrants, to the African American Buffalo Soldiers and the women who saved the redwood forests, to the child today in the city or on the farm or who roams paved paths or remote trails or wild seashores; our planet belongs to everyone.
A total of 27 different parks are highlighted in Turk’s pastel illustrations, each an individual work of art. A complete map of all 61 park locations is also included. Within its borders, each of these parks protects a precious piece of our planet and the histories that shaped it. Each preserves a space for our future.
The next time you stand beneath a soaring sandstone arch or summit a rocky peak or glide over a delicate reef or race a rapid or gaze at a rare meteor shower … remember to love your planet. It is your home. It is your own.
Turk writes…
What keeps a home standing can never be broken:
A sense of belonging sung by the streams, from valleys to peaks, over thousands of miles, through millions of hearts.
From every river, star, and stone comes the eternal refrain:
YOU ARE HOME.
“You Are Home” published by Atheneum/Simon and Schuster. Available online or at your local bookstore.
Sandy Ferguson Fuller began her children’s book career over 40 years ago as a student of Maurice Sendak at Yale University. Once introduced, the picture book genre captivated her imagination with its unique blend of story and illustration. She is an international literary agent, editorial consultant, bookseller, author and illustrator. Her life’s work has exposed her to a wealth of ideas and wonder. She hopes that her own books, as well as those she has helped others to publish, will touch many souls, young and old. www.alparts.com
