It’s fascinating to imagine the picture books that could come out in 100 years. They’ll imagine a time when cars didn’t fly and there weren’t teleportation devices to get us around the globe. Those books will innocently look back at the people who invented them, as well as, the first barriers that were broken by those who used them. Alice Across America, The Story of the First Women’s Cross-Country Road Trip is a very fun and informative illustrated book that tells about a very different time in the United States.
It was the early 1900’s and cars were a new thing. They certainly had pluses like they didn’t scare easily or have personalities like horses. However, it was a new technology and many people didn’t know how to drive. For Alice Ramsey, who was then in her early 20s, this wasn’t a problem. She’d always loved horses and seemed to relish the feeling of moving, especially if it was a bit fast.
One day her horse got spooked when she was riding it. Her husband John thought that a car might be a safer and more reliable way for her to travel. From there it was all downhill for Alice, she loved driving and even entered a two-day endurance race in which she drove a car. Another person in the race happened to work for Maxwell-Briscoe, the makers of the car that she drove in the race.
He approached her with the idea that she’d drive from New York City to California. Granted, it was kind of a back-handed idea, in that it was to demonstrate that their cars were so durable and easy to maintain that even a woman could drive it. Putting that aside, which she was most certainly aware of, she knew of three friends that would be great and eager companions for the trip.
The car company promoted the road trip and Alice continued practicing the basic repairs, like changing tires or cleaning spark plugs that might need to be done along the way. The trip started with media fanfare and the car headed west. This is a major part of the time paradigm shift that is very difficult to fathom. America was a very young country then. Sure, the big cities had people, but this car was traveling across the country in a time when the bridges and infrastructure weren’t established and street lights were limited to the major cities.
As they headed west there were flat tires after flat tires, plus things that modern audiences could only relate to old west movies. For example they had the great idea to follow wagon coach tracks when they got lost once. The tracks took them through a Nebraska town where the horseback riding sheriff was searching for an escaped convict. Media and townsfolk across their journey lined the roads to greet them as they made their way to California.
Alice Across America is the kind of feel-good success story that kids love to read about. Sometimes, like in this case, it strains their imagination to think that there was ever a time when things weren’t like today or people acted in certain way. The book has two pages of author’s notes that tell more about Alice Ramsey’s life and more details about the trip. There is also a short history on automobiles and a bibliography for readers who want more about her adventure. Ages four through ten will enjoy the book and learn something from it. Those on the older end of the scale will be able to read it by themselves, while those younger ones will need help reading it. The art will keep audiences hooked into the story if they’re too young to read it. It’s just long enough to be a good-night book. This is one of those read-along books that you’ll read and that they’ll want to look at the pictures or read it again.
The illustrations in the book by Gilbert Ford are lighthearted and offer the perfect tone for the words that are put down by Sarah Glenn Marsh. The book is from Macmillan Kids.
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