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(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Sydney Smith.
As a young man, painter Grant Wood leaves the family farm--and his beloved cow, Tillie--for the artistic rigors of Paris. Homesick, he returns and creates the work for which he is best known: American Gothic. Kulling fictionalizes Wood's story (e.g., she made up Tillie) in a child-friendly way. Smith's illustrations--using watercolors, ink, and a toothbrush--have a pleasingly pastoral, mottled look.