[(If You're Not from the Prairie...)] [Author: David Bouchard] published on (April, 1995)

As a result of a Geography course that I attended earlier this year, I purchased this book; which I am really looking forwards to using n order to inspire my class of Year 5 and 6 children into thinking more about their local area. The words and illustrations are beautifully inspirational, and yet really simple.If you're not from the prairie,You don't know the sun,You can't know the sun.Diamonds that bounce off crisp winter snow,Warm waters in dugouts and lakes that we know,The sun is a friend from when we are young,A child of the prairie is part of the sun.I'm looking forwards to seeing what my class can make of the alternative title 'If You're Not From Southend'!

Lovely illustrations and story.

I was given this beautiful book as a gift from a teacher I worked with in George Fitton School, Brandon, Manitoba as a lasting memory of my 10 week teaching practise. It contains the most beautiful artwork and a wonderfully captivating story. Every time I read it I am taken back to the wonderful time I spent with Dorothy Bezo and the other staff and children. I truly recommend this book for all ages.

I heard about this picture book from a teacher at my high school who uses it to talk about identity and how we get to know other people and their cultures. He also has students write their own poems/books and they kids love it. I like that the book is a poem, there is repetitive structure on each page so it's easy for kids to follow/copy the style, and the author really shows the reader what is important from his culture, where he comes from.

My wife and I are both from the prairies. We don't live there anymore. We had a copy of this. The cat ate it, quite literally. We decided to replace it. It won't be the book we refer to the most, or spend the most time with. But it might end up being the last book in our collection, where ever we end up.It looks like a children's book, but it's not. There's no story, no striking characters. Only poetry and art. And, our children aren't from the prairie, so they don't know, and will never know sky, horizon, dust in the wind or flat. Or, I suppose, me.It made one of our 3 children sad. It made her sad to realize that her childhood wasn't like that, and neither will her children's. My childhood wasn't perfect, but I do know sky, horizon, thunderclouds, sunsets (and sunrises), creeks, and absolute dark; and silence but for subtle natural sounds.It's a very nice and beautiful little book.

Our School Community Council gives a book to each graduating student, and after browsing for which book to give, this was the one we chose. This is our second year giving this book. The words and pictures are amazingly accurate and depict life on the prairies as many of us knew it! It's actually meant to be a children's book, but we felt it is suitable for "children" of all ages! After all, we're only as old as we feel on the inside, and books like this help to keep us young!

This is a gorgeous book. The story rings true and the illustrations are beautiful! I found it first at a local independent bookstore and bought it for my husband. He is from the Oklahoma prairie and we have raised our family in California. When I read the book to him, his eyes sparkled and he had a big smile on his face ... it was the prairie he remembered even though the one in the book was Canadian. The little boy pictured in the front of the book even had red hair as did my husband of 47 years when he was little. So we decided to purchase four more for our children from Amazon so they would understand a bit more what growing up on the Oklahoma prairie was like. In addition, he is writing his own story for them. We think it will be a wonderful Christmas present for our children and their families.

Brings back memories from growing up!