Overview
From the always original Dan Yaccarino, this is no ordinary book of state facts--it’s wacky, it’s bizarre, it’s a rip-roaring family road trip!What state’s official cookie is the chocolate chip cookie?
What state hosts the International Rotten Sneaker Contest?
Which state is it illegal to enter with a chicken on your head?
To find the answers to these questions and hundreds more, just hitch a ride with the fabulous Farley family--Mom, Dad, Freddie, Fran, and Fido--as they travel state to state and discover far-out festivals, kooky contests, ludicrous laws, peculiar people, and oodles of oddities across America. So fasten your seat belt and get ready to go, go through fifty states of fun!
Synopsis
What state’s official cookie is the chocolate chip cookie?
What state hosts the International Rotten Sneaker Contest?
Which state is it illegal to enter with a chicken on your head?
To find the answers to these questions and hundreds more, just hitch a ride with the fabulous Farley family--Mom, Dad, Freddie, Fran, and Fido--as they travel state to state and discover far-out festivals, kooky contests, ludicrous laws, peculiar people, and oodles of oddities across America. So fasten your seat belt and get ready to go, go through fifty states of fun!
Snappy, often humorous facts fill each page along with Yaccarino’s bold, colorful, quirky illustrations. Also included are maps and cleverly designed backmatter with information every kid needs: state mottos, state flowers, state birds, state trees, state nicknames, etc. This is a rollicking road trip to be visited again and again by readers of all ages on the go, go.
About the author:
Dan's inspiration for this book came from the road trips he took with his own fabulous family as a kid. He says, "I spent a lot of time in the back seat of the family station wagon with my brother and sister as our family traveled the East coast on many road trips. I have amazing memories of touring Colonial Williamsburg in Virginia, eating frogs' legs in Georgia, and watching gator wrestling in Florida."
These days, Dan travels with his wife and two children to many of the very same destinations. He's even caught himself shouting, "Don't make me pull this car over!"
Publishers Weekly
Yaccarino (Trashy Town) invites readers to jump into the Farley family station wagon for an old-fashioned road trip. Beginning in Maine and winding-page by colorful page-down the Eastern seaboard and across America, this informative, outsize paper-over-board book integrates text and eye-popping art to highlight ridiculous but true tidbits about each state. From funny outdated laws (in Atlanta it's illegal to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole) to weird tourist attractions (e.g., West Virginia's roadkill cook-off), the Farleys take one zany adventure. The often anachronistic factoids are matched by the vintage feel of bold '50s-style graphic illustrations, complete with brightly colored speech bubbles. The Farley family members (Mom, Dad, Freddie, Fran and Fido) pop from each page, alongside cowboys, classic cars and superheroes. Presented as a diverting read-aloud, this book sneaks in a fair amount of history and geography, despite its meandering organization. A section at the end offers more traditional information (state flowers, capitals, square miles, etc.). Ages 7-10. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Editorials
Publishers Weekly
Yaccarino (Trashy Town) invites readers to jump into the Farley family station wagon for an old-fashioned road trip. Beginning in Maine and winding-page by colorful page-down the Eastern seaboard and across America, this informative, outsize paper-over-board book integrates text and eye-popping art to highlight ridiculous but true tidbits about each state. From funny outdated laws (in Atlanta it's illegal to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole) to weird tourist attractions (e.g., West Virginia's roadkill cook-off), the Farleys take one zany adventure. The often anachronistic factoids are matched by the vintage feel of bold '50s-style graphic illustrations, complete with brightly colored speech bubbles. The Farley family members (Mom, Dad, Freddie, Fran and Fido) pop from each page, alongside cowboys, classic cars and superheroes. Presented as a diverting read-aloud, this book sneaks in a fair amount of history and geography, despite its meandering organization. A section at the end offers more traditional information (state flowers, capitals, square miles, etc.). Ages 7-10. (Apr.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.Children's Literature -
The Farley family—consisting of Mom, Dad, Freddie, Fran, and Fido—travel a winding route by car from Maine to Washington state. From there they hop on an airplane to complete their visit to all fifty states with Alaska and Hawaii. The layout for each state (some covering one page and others shown on two) includes a map of the state with a star indicating its capital city, the state's nickname, and a variety of little known facts. Maine has the distinction of producing the most toothpicks of any state (about 100 million a day). The first lighthouse in the U.S. lit up in Boston Harbor in 1716. The annual Newport Jazz Festival in Rhode Island began in 1954. The world's largest insectarium is in Philadelphia. Morehead City, North Carolina, hosts an annual Bald is Beautiful Convention. In Gary, Indiana, it is against the law to enter a movie house or theater or ride in a public streetcar within four hours of eating garlic. All of the pages of the book are very busy with colorful cartoonlike illustrations and facts presented in various fonts and formats. Tables with information about the states, (including size, state birds, trees, mottos, etc.) appear at the end of the book. An engrossing and entertaining experience for one or two readers at a time. Reviewer: Phyllis Kennemer, Ph.D.School Library Journal
Gr 1-4- Readers accompany the fabulous Farley Family on their circuitous car and plane trip across the U.S., from Maine to Hawaii. Mom, Dad, Freddie, Fran, and Fido appear on each pastel-colored page chronicling the fun-filled activities available in each state and learning unusual facts. Readers learn that Maine is the earmuff capital of the world and that Albert Einstein's brain is preserved in Princeton, NJ. Each fact is presented in a separate area of the page, with accompanying cartoon art, resulting in a busy but energetic layout. The states are discussed in the order in which the family visits them. Children are also encouraged to do some additional exploration by looking for a little figure of Bigfoot scattered throughout. A colorful map at the beginning serves as a table of contents and shows the location of the states and the family's route. The concluding pages list the states in alphabetical order and give their capitals, dates of statehood, rank in entering the Union, area, bird, flower, insect, tree, motto, and nickname. This book is loads of fun and is certain to stimulate interest in the U.S.-Lynda Ritterman, Atco Elementary School, NJ
Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.