Travel with Aki to the heart of St. Louis, where the soaring Gateway Arch meets the mighty Mississippi. Discover hidden stories of Native trails, westward explorers, and futuristic architecture—alongside blooming pollinator gardens, migratory birds, and rising river waters. With vibrant art, fun facts, and a poetic voice, this book reveals how one small national park holds a big story about our past, present, and planet.
Author and educator Neil Rosen is passionate about the transformative power of books on children and their families. He writes books that unite families and empower parents, caregivers, and children to impact their community positively. Neil's latest project, Can You Read Nature? encourages families to spend more intentional time outdoors to nurture future generations of environmental stewards.
Young readers will enjoy the rhythmic storytelling and bold, clear illustrations that blend nature, architecture, and history in a friendly, inviting way.
The vocabulary is mostly accessible at this level, with strong visual cues to help decode words like trams, steamboats, and observation deck.
They’ll begin to absorb basic science and civic ideas—like river wildlife, seasonal changes, and the shape and scale of the Arch—through phrases that are concrete and vivid.
Concepts like urban heat islands or migration are introduced gently, often with visual context or simplified phrasing.
The art balances whimsy and accuracy, reinforcing both historical settings and ecological features in a way that makes it approachable for early readers.
This is the book’s core audience. Readers in this age group are ready to engage with the more complex vocabulary and ideas presented throughout:
observation deck, urban heat island, pollinators, renovation, interactive displays, etc.
They’ll enjoy discovering scientific and environmental details—like why trees help cool cities, how birds migrate along flyways,
and how flood levels reflect climate shifts. The artwork supports these ideas clearly, often pairing labeled visuals with poetic language.
Historical figures like Jefferson and Lewis & Clark, as well as architectural and ecological facts, are introduced at a level that encourages both curiosity and comprehension.
This book could be used to support units in social studies, earth science, and environmental literacy.
Older elementary readers will be able to appreciate the layered interplay of history, science, and civic identity embedded in the book.
The vocabulary—while still age-appropriate—is increasingly nuanced, and terms like acoustic properties, geometric patterns, and climate adaptation
offer opportunities for discussion or research. These readers will better grasp the deeper meaning behind the park’s dual role as a
symbol of American expansion and a case study in urban environmental resilience.
The art, while still stylized for younger readers, delivers sufficient detail to engage older kids, especially in scenes showing the river ecosystem,
native gardens, and city architecture. While the book doesn’t rise to full middle-grade nonfiction complexity, it serves well as a launchpad into broader
historical and scientific inquiry.
Age-Appropriate Learning Guide: “Can You Read... Gateway Arch National Park?”
Ages 7–8:
Ages 8–10:
Ages 10–12:
Can You Read Gateway Arch National Park?
Can You Read Gateway Arch National Park?
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ALLY BRITT Artist & Art TeacherInstagram: @allyartsy95
I was born and raised in the Ozark hills of Southwest Missouri, in a little town called Gainesville. Inspired by the beautiful landscapes of the Ozarks and growing with Disney classics I fell in love with the artwork of some of their films like the landscapes in both "Sleeping Beauty" and "Pocahontas" Ever since I was a little kid, I always felt a pull towards artistic expression and would create drawings of both nature scenes and animals. As I grew up my love of art grew, and I began to develop my style as an artist. I eventually found my way to watercolor paints, which what I used on the artwork for this book.
When I became a teacher, my goal was to create the same joy in creating that my teachers gave to me. This series has pushed me to think outside the box when coming up with different ways to express the narrative in a visual form and I am so grateful for all the other artists that we have assembled as a team to create this series. I hope that this book and series not only shows kids that wonders of our world but also shows them that there are so many different styles of artistic expression and that anyone can be an artist.