Our 50 States: A Family Adventure Across America

Lynne Cheney (Author), Robin Preiss Glasser (Illustrator)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. The creators of America: A Patriotic Primer and A Is for Abigail have compiled their most encompassing paean to the U.S. yet, here bypassing an alphabetical roundup in favor of a cross-country road trip. An opening gatefold previews for readers the route that five affable family members will take as they set off from their Massachusetts home. They traverse the other 47 contiguous states (and Washington, D.C.) before making final stops in Alaska and Hawaii. The creatively cluttered pages collect words and images that present a pleasing potpourri of past and present: Glasser depicts the touring family viewing landmarks and natural wonders alongside portraits of influential individuals who hail or hailed from each state. The children's snippets of communications to those back home convey welcome personal observations: the boy text-messages a friend; and the girl pens notes to her grandmother (e.g., "Dear Grandma, I want to live in Hershey, PA—the air smells like chocolate, and even the streelights are shaped like Hershey's kisses!"). Glasser utilizes every spare inch of space, including decorative borders that accommodate memorable quotations, song lyrics and historical data. Young armchair explorers will savor this spirited, whistle-stop celebration of America. All ages. (Oct.)
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From School Library Journal

Grade 2–5—The beauty and diversity of America are celebrated as three children, their parents, and their dog travel across the country in high spirits. Starting in Massachusetts, the family finds interesting details: Dr. Seuss National Memorial, the first post office, and famous people like Deborah Sampson and Herman Melville. The pages are alive with many small pictures, text, and maps. Some captions are hand lettered, and watercolor-and-ink drawings are numerous and appealing. Design elements for each state pull the book together: a "photograph" of the family enjoying a site, the background map, borders reflecting a dominant feature of the state. Readers will search for the children to read their messages: Annie writes letters to Grandma; Ben stays in touch with Grandpa, and with his friend Alex by text messaging: "alex. I'm watching a guy make shoes in the 19th century. kidding! it's at old sturbridge village. ben." Some states enjoy a spread, but most fit comfortably on one page. A foldout map shows the route the family followed, and Cheney introduces the book enthusiastically: "Perhaps none of us will ever be lucky enough to take such a grand road trip…but surely we are fortunate to live in a country where all these things-and so many more-form the fabric of our national life." There are just enough visual details and fascinating facts to keep children absorbed for hours.—Lee Bock, Glenbrook Elementary School, Pulaski, WI
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 9-12
  
• Hardcover: 74 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing (October 24, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689867174
• ISBN-13: 978-0689867170
• Product Dimensions: 10.6 x 10.6 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (55 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #78,119 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #12 in	Books > Children's Books > History & Historical Fiction > United States > State & Local
  #41 in	Books > Children's Books > Educational > Explore the World > United States

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

34 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fun, informative, historical: 4+, November 30, 2006

By	Carolyn Rowe Hill "author of 'The Dead Angel" (Ann Arbor, Michigan) - See all my reviews

If Robin Preiss Glasser is your illustrator you can't go wrong. Then add Lynne Cheney's years of studying American history and you have a best-selling children's book. We love this book in our family. I ordered it before Thanksgiving thinking of it as a gift, but then couldn't wait to share it. It's fun to sit with youngsters, pick out a state (we use one of our favorite puzzles to do that...a puzzle of Our 50 States), find that state in the book and then have fun reading about that choice. Each state's page includes the date that state entered the Union along with a lot of other interesting information. In the front of the book is an index that tells the reader the page each state can be found on in case you want to find a particular state and move on from there. (You may notice in looking at the book on Amazon's site, that the great state of Michigan is the page shown as a sample.)

Some years back I ordered, through a company associated with Highlights magazine for kids, a set of booklets and maps for each state of the Union. This is a perfect companion piece to that set. Our grandkids already love those books and maps.

The book may be a little busy for children who have difficulty focusing on the task at hand, but, in general it is a very entertaining and informative book. I highly recommend it.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Very valuable reading for all American children, April 11, 2007

By	Jane Russell - See all my reviews

It is a great book for children to learn about America, its geography, history, and much more. I don't know why some reviewers even mention their political orientation here. It has really nothing to with the great book. It is a perfect educational volume for children, no matter by whom it was written. It reminds me very much of the third book from the series Cats are rascals, in which the readers also learn a lot about American history and geography by following the Oregon Trail with all the cats back in the year 1862. Check it out at Why Some Cats are Rascals ( Book 3)

10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Interactive, learning book, February 2, 2007

By	Kathlyn Storey "Kathlyn A Storey" (Rancho Murieta, CA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Amazon Verified Purchase

My presents to my grandchildren usually involve items that have to be shared with one of their parents because I have this funny idea that interaction between them is to be encouraged. This book is going to be combined with a puzzle of the United States. By giving them to the six-year old granddaughter, then they can be passed down to the four-year old at a later date.