Status
Available
Collection
Genres
Publication
Wide Eyed Editions (2024), 112 pages
Description
Be inspired by the inventiveness, beauty and diversity of the United States in this colorful collection of fact-filled maps. Explore thousands of locations and be awed by the achievements of hundreds of people who helped make America what it is today.
Language
Original language
English
Physical description
112 p.; 10.9 inches
User reviews
LibraryThing member nbmars
Since I love both infographics and state trivia, it’s as if this book were made just for me, for it combines both of those features into one big book. It begins:
“Welcome explorers, investigators, and lovers of knowledge….”
Yes, yes, that is I! (Well, if you add the word “armchair” before
For each state, there is a “Welcome Box” providing an introduction to the state, a map full of interesting factoids as well as prominent geological features, and side bars about key facts, state icons, inspiring people, moments to remember, and a spotlight on one particular region in the state.
I have several favorite states, but my most favorite is actually not a state at all, but a federal district; that is, Washington, D.C. Thankfully, it is included at the back of the book, although I wish the author had shown D.C.’s license plate, which memorably declares: “Taxation Without Representation.” (The author does, however, mention that D.C. is a zone of taxation without representation.]
But what it does include is fun and interesting, such as a nod to “Ben’s Chili Bowl,” a long-time favorite area restaurant; a blurb on the “Racing Presidents” - mascots of the Washington Nationals baseball team; the length of the Woodley Park metro escalator (the longest escalator in D.C., and one I occasionally walked up, in my salad days); and even a mention of the bookstore “Busboys and Poets.” In addition, it also provides the necessary sampling of monuments, museums, and memorials, all packed in one two-page spread.
Right next door to D.C. is the state of Maryland, where I grew up. How did I not know about “Smith Island Cake”? Obviously, I didn’t have this book when I grew up.
But I would think there would also be a lengthier description of crab feasts - she only mentions that you can find delicious blue crabs in quiet fishing villages, but in fact, approximately 50 percent of the country’s blue crab harvest comes from Maryland waters, and crab feasts are a Maryland staple! I would also have loved to have seen a reference to the McCormick Spice Factory, which graced Baltimore with the smell of cinnamon for 125 years. But as anyone knows, you can put ten people from a state in a room, and come up with ten totally different lists of the most iconic features of the state. It doesn’t really matter; I love the parts that are included, and I love learning new things about all of the states, especially the others where I have lived (The Badger State, The Grand Canyon State, The Keystone State, and now The Prairie State.) You will learn all these nicknames from the book, and there are bonus infographics at the end showing all the presidents and all the state flags (of which Maryland’s is the most spectacular, I’m sure you will agree!).
The illustrations by Sol Linero are perfect for the book.
Evaluation: I love this book; it’s very fun, and would make a great gift.
“Welcome explorers, investigators, and lovers of knowledge….”
Yes, yes, that is I! (Well, if you add the word “armchair” before
Show More
the word “explorers”….)For each state, there is a “Welcome Box” providing an introduction to the state, a map full of interesting factoids as well as prominent geological features, and side bars about key facts, state icons, inspiring people, moments to remember, and a spotlight on one particular region in the state.
I have several favorite states, but my most favorite is actually not a state at all, but a federal district; that is, Washington, D.C. Thankfully, it is included at the back of the book, although I wish the author had shown D.C.’s license plate, which memorably declares: “Taxation Without Representation.” (The author does, however, mention that D.C. is a zone of taxation without representation.]
But what it does include is fun and interesting, such as a nod to “Ben’s Chili Bowl,” a long-time favorite area restaurant; a blurb on the “Racing Presidents” - mascots of the Washington Nationals baseball team; the length of the Woodley Park metro escalator (the longest escalator in D.C., and one I occasionally walked up, in my salad days); and even a mention of the bookstore “Busboys and Poets.” In addition, it also provides the necessary sampling of monuments, museums, and memorials, all packed in one two-page spread.
Right next door to D.C. is the state of Maryland, where I grew up. How did I not know about “Smith Island Cake”? Obviously, I didn’t have this book when I grew up.
But I would think there would also be a lengthier description of crab feasts - she only mentions that you can find delicious blue crabs in quiet fishing villages, but in fact, approximately 50 percent of the country’s blue crab harvest comes from Maryland waters, and crab feasts are a Maryland staple! I would also have loved to have seen a reference to the McCormick Spice Factory, which graced Baltimore with the smell of cinnamon for 125 years. But as anyone knows, you can put ten people from a state in a room, and come up with ten totally different lists of the most iconic features of the state. It doesn’t really matter; I love the parts that are included, and I love learning new things about all of the states, especially the others where I have lived (The Badger State, The Grand Canyon State, The Keystone State, and now The Prairie State.) You will learn all these nicknames from the book, and there are bonus infographics at the end showing all the presidents and all the state flags (of which Maryland’s is the most spectacular, I’m sure you will agree!).
The illustrations by Sol Linero are perfect for the book.
Evaluation: I love this book; it’s very fun, and would make a great gift.
Show Less
Similar in this library
Pages
112