Customer Reviews

We're There! Washington, DC

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Recently I was planning a trip to Washington with my wife and seven year old son. I was looking for a book that would teach me a bit about D.C. so I could seem like I knew what I was talking about when my son asked me about this monument and that historical event. In my search, I came across Elizabeth Skinner's "We're There! Washington, D.C." and thought it would be a good way for my son to mix fun with learning. And it was! This book is engaging, educational, and fun. My son would not put it down and made sure he had it in his hand wherever we went. What a great find! I notice that Ms. Skinner has written similar books for New York, Boston, and Rhode Island and when I visit those places with my son, I will definitely get them. If Ms. Skinner reads this review, I just want to say great job! And thank you.

We just returned from a 3-day whirlwind tour of DC with our 14- and 11-year-old kids. This book was a hit with both of them--especially the 14-year-old. The night before we began touring, they huddled together and read up on what we'd be seeing. The book gives quick, concise background info on many of the sites and then has a series of questions to answer or objects to search for at many popular DC sites. At most museums, and even monuments, the kids were on a little scavenger hunt to find all of the answers. This little book sustained their enthusiasm all day long, and they thoroughly enjoyed educating Mom and Dad on various facts they'd learned from reading the text. We even changed our itinerary to include the Nat'l Museum of the American Indian (a real gem) because of this book. The only thing I'd do differently next time is buy a book for each kid.

We got this book before we went to D.C., but did not have time to complete the activities in it until we were on the road home. Turns out, we saw a bunch of stuff that wasn't in there and missed at least half of the sights in the book (not that we regret it). It was crowded and crazy in the Museum of Natural History, so we didn't have the time to linger and notice all the things that they asked about, so even that part kind of missed the mark. It would have been better if I'd had my 9 year old preview the questions before we went out every day. It's a good way to get upper elementary to junior high kids to go a little further into what they see, instead of just getting impatient about when's the next snack. Too bad we didn't use it that way...

My grandchildren had just been to DC so they loved. Too bad they didn't have it before the trip.

First day of our trip to DC, we toured Lincoln Memorial. The book states that the number of steps to the memorial is equal to the age Lincoln was when he died. Complete rubbish. (See National Park Service website regarding the Lincoln Memorial FAQ's.)

Clearly not a trustworthy source of information.