Yo, Sacramento!

     From the minds behind Yo, Millard Fillmore! (Will Cleveland, Mark Alvarez and Tate Nation) comes the follow-up about state capitals, Yo, Sacramento! (New York: Scholastic,1994).

     Did you know that in the Green Mountains, a gigantic varmint is shaving away ground with his mountain peeler? (Montpelier, Vermont) That the Concorde is sometimes ridden by a nude hamster? (Concord, New Hampshire) Or that the rich lion listens to his collar radio inside his comfy den of fur? (Denver, Colorado) The historical information is right there again on the left-hand pages across from the cartoon, along with important details like state size(by square miles), post office abbreviation, the official bird, tree and flower of each state, as well as the date it entered(or reentered) the Union. And there's nifty trivia in the margins.
     This book also contains helpful quizzes to make sure the information sticks, just like its predecessor. And the states are grouped by region, which is interesting(though confusing, how those regions were decided on). The Jeopardy!-style quiz section is back, in addition to a name-that-state-outline page(which is no problem at all if you read Laurie Keller's Scrambled States of America.)

     This book is hilarious, and incredibly useful. (Seriously, how else would you know that the capital of Kentucky is Frankfort, or the capital of Pennsylvania is Harrisburg?) Check it out ASAP, especially if you have kids.

#Wesley

The Scrambled States of America

     Laurie Keller's Scrambled States of America (New York: Henry Holt, 1998) is one of my favorite picture books of all time. (Which is saying something, because there's a lot of really great ones out there.) This was her first book, after working several years as a Hallmark greeting-card designer.

     It's narrated by a man named Sam, who opens by telling us that he bets that we've heard it all, but that not many people know this story. Ohio and Virginia rush up, both wanting to tell this story, but Sam tells them to get back in their places. Then he begins: "It was just your basic, ordinary day in the good ol' U.S. of A., and all the states were waking up, having their first cups of morning coffee, and enjoying the beautiful sunrise." (All the states, that is, except for Kansas.) How do we know this? Well, because he tells us so: "I'M NOT FEELING HAPPY AT ALL!" he yells. His very kind best friend Nebraska asks him what's wrong. "I don't know, I just feel bored. All day long we just stand here in the middle of the country. We never GO anywhere. We never DO anything. And we NEVER meet any NEW states!" So Nebraska thinks a while, deciding that Kansas might have a point.
     So then Kansas has the idea to invite all the other states to a get-to-know-you party, they enlist their neighbors Missouri and Iowa to help plan, and "those wacky little Midwestern states planned the biggest party ever," according to Sam. (Keller throws in wonderful little background details like Nebraska's disgusted expression while licking stamps, and Iowa's uncertainty how to spell Connecticut. Guess he didn't read Yo, Millard Fillmore!)
     At the party, Tennessee drops his fork at least three times and Nevada and Mississippi fall in love. Late into the evening, Idaho and Virginia have the idea to switch places, so each can see a different part of the country. Everyone else loves this idea, and everyone quickly makes plans to swap with someone. (This works out better for some states than others. Indiana, Alabama and New York all switch places with California, for example.) But as Roy, a minor character from Peanuts, once said of Charlie Brown: "He's the type that makes a good temporary friend." The states realize this wasn't the best arrangement, as Alaska has Michigan's thumb tickling one side of him and Oklahoma's Panhandle jabbing into the other. Arizona's hair keeps getting destroyed by the waves where South Carolina used to live.
     Even faster than they made the first trip, everyone wanted very quickly to go home as soon as they could. (So in Virginia's bus, West Virginia and Ohio play Go Fish to pass the time. Colorado hikes, Indiana skateboards ) There's lot to talk about when they get home; Alaska's joke-telling skills, Minnesota explaining how awful sunburns are, and samples of food were exchanged to give to neighbors. The final two pages are filled with quick sketches of landmarks interacting, like Minnesota's 10,000 Lakes visiting the Grand Canyon. It's really entertaining, and a great way to wrap up the story.

#Wesley