Driven by love, nourished by hope, and sustained by faith, thousands of families travel over land and sea each year to adopt children internationally. This timeless multicultural story provides a unique opportunity for every reader to take part in an intimate family journey and to witness the shared joy of relatives and friends upon a “homecoming.”
Inspired by personal experience, Steven L. Layne’s gentle verse combines with Jan Bower’s captivating oil portraits to create an excellent story for reading aloud as well as a powerful remembrance for those who have traversed the miles and experienced the wonder of international adoption for themselves.
About the Author
International adoptive parent Steven Layne is a faculty member in the Department of Education at Judson University in Elgin, Illinois, where he teaches courses in literature and pedagogy. He also serves as a respected literacy consultant, motivational keynote speaker, and featured children’s author both in and outside of the United States. He is also the author of several other award-winning books: The Teachers’ Night Before Christmas, a 2002 International Reading Association/Children’s Book Council Children’s Choices selection; My Brother Dan’s Delicious, a 2004 International Reading Association/Children’s Book Council Children’s Choices selection; This Side of Paradise winner of the Hal Clement Award for Young Adult Science Fiction and an International Reading Association Young Adults’ Choices selection. He is also the author of Verses for Dad’s Heart, The Principal’s Night Before Christmas, Thomas’s Sheep and the Spectacular Science Project, and Thomas’s Sheep and the Great Geography Test.
About the Illustrator
Mrs. Bower is a portrait artist and a member of the American Society of Portrait Artists and the Portrait Society of America. The mother of eleven, Mrs. Bower shares a studio with her husband and home-schools her children. Her work has appeared in art shows, schools, and galleries throughout Michigan, where she lives.
OVER LAND AND SEA
A Story of International Adoption
By Steven L. Layne
Illustrated by Jan Bower
JUVENILE FICTION / Family / Adoption
32 pp. 8 1/2 x 11
31 color illus.
Ages 5-8 Grades K-3
ISBN: 9781589801820 hc