Our 50 States
A Family Adventure Across America

  • Title:

    Our 50 States
  • Hardcover ISBN:

    978-0689867170
  • Hardcover Dimensions:

    10.6'' x 10.6''
  • 74 Hardcover pages


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"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."

School Library Journal


"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."

Publishers Weekly

Lynne V. Cheney is a senior fellow at AEI.

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About the Author

 

Lynne V.
Cheney
  • Lynne Cheney has spent much of her professional life writing and speaking about the importance of knowing American history and teaching it well. As chairman of the National Endowment for the Humanities from 1986 to 1993, she wrote and spoke about the importance of teaching children about the leaders, events, and ideas that have shaped our world, and she worked to provide opportunities for teachers to gain the in-depth knowledge that lies behind inspired instruction. Mrs. Cheney has worked to bring tales of the American past to a wide audience, writing articles about history for numerous publications on topics ranging from women's suffrage in the West to the way Americans celebrated the country's centennial. She has also turned her attention to children and their families, writing six bestselling history books for them, the most recent being We the People: The Story of Our Constitution (Simon & Schuster, 2008). She is currently working on an in-depth biography of James Madison.
  • Email: lcheney@aei.org
  • Assistant Info

    Name: Hannah Gray
    Phone: 202.862.5897
    Email: hannah.gray@aei.org

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