Michael Bedard was born and raised in Toronto. His novels include Stained Glass, A Darker Magic, Painted Devil, and Redwork, which received the Governor General’s Literary Award and the Canadian Library Association’s Book of the Year Award for Children. He has also written several acclaimed picture books, including The Clay Ladies, which received the Toronto IODE Book Award. His biography, William Blake: The Gates of Paradise and his picture book Emily attest to his interest in poets and poetry.
Oftentimes, I select library books because of their artwork. This was the case with this book. When an older sibling read to the littler ones, she loved it enough to pick up "My Antonia" and tell me about it. Gorgeous illustrations and delightful glimpse into a stint of local author, Willa Cather's childhood.
Having lived in Nebraska for most of my life, I can appreciate how much detail and description Michael Bedard used to illustrate Willa Cather's early years in the Nebraska prairie
The illustrations are nice, showing the vast prairie and the growing awareness of the young Willa Cather, but the ending seemed abrupt in its attempt to note Willa's "song waiting to be sung."