Product Description

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #113020 in Books
• Published on: 2008-08-05
• Released on: 2008-08-05
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 40 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780805079975
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review

Travel across the country with Laurie Keller's wacky, clever cartoon drawings. Keller brings each state to life and gives them all unique personalities. Take a look at the comic adventures of Vermont as he tries to learn the state abbreviations.

From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Keller is once again guilty of transporting laughter across state lines in this follow-up to her hit The Scrambled States of America. Who knew that the 50 states were such a bunch of hams? She shows readers the backstage histrionics: California demands to talk to his agent when Georgia gets a bad case of stage fright, and Hawaii doesn't get the answer she seeks when she asks Kansas: Does this grass skirt make my butte look big? But the show must go on—and it does with every possible kind of act, from Minnesota the Magician (who seems to saw South Dakota in half) to the State Impersonators (Tennessee and Wyoming form Oklahoma and then ask, What's up with this handle, anyway? I mean, what am I—a state or a frying pan?). Some fans of the first book may argue that this one isn't as geographically clever—and they could be right. But the snappy dialogue flows effortlessly, the personalities are as winning as ever, and the pictures' energy never flags. It's e pluribus boffo! Ages 4–9. (Aug.)
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 4—New York wakes up in the middle of the night and shouts, "Hey, everyone—let's have a talent show!" The other states jump right in to prepare and perform their acts. Illustrations and layouts are similar to those in The Scrambled States of America Holt, 1998), with cartoon characters shaped like state maps dancing and prancing on stick legs and wisecracking all over the pages. There's plenty to giggle at: Texas trying to skate under Missouri's Gateway Arch, Pennsylvania playing a "peppy tune" on the Liberty Bell, and California checking in with his agent. Because there are 50 characters, the action can become confusing. It's easy enough to figure out that the "New States on the Block" boy band is made up of states that begin with the word "new," but not as clear why North Carolina, South Carolina, Illinois, Virginia, West Virginia, and Louisiana are members of the Montanettes, a singing group with Vegas-style feathers. There are references to the previous book, so it's helpful to remember that Mississippi and Nevada have fallen in love. Where it is popular, this one will also have fans. It is clever, lightly educational, and hip, but with a slightly weaker premise, it is just a bit more…scrambled.—Ellen Heath, Easton Area Public Library, Easton, PA
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Customer Reviews

WE LOVE THIS BOOK!
My kids Andy (6) and Katherine (4) absolutely love this book and all of Laurie Keller's books...especially Scrambled States of America and Open Wide! They both have learned all the states and think this book is so funny. There is also a card game that goes along with the book that we play several times a day. They know which states border Canada and Mexico, which states touch the Atlantic Ocean and which touch the Pacific, and they even know how many states border Kansas, Tennessee, Utah, etc. What a wonderful way for kids this young to learn about the country! I think these books and card game make a GREAT educational birthday gift!

Very Scrambled
Keller, L. (2008). The Scrambled States of America. New York: Henry Holt and Company.

0805079971

Bored one night, the states decide to have a talent show. The states take on different tasks to prepare for the show. Through the preparations, the structure of a state's counties and cities are shown (with emphasis on Georgia), as well as the macro geography of the globe. Once the talent show begins, the states perform acts (that have very little to do with the actual states themselves).

With a lot of text, dialogue bubbles and character illustrations all over the pages, the book could seem a little overwhelming for some readers.



Activities to Do with the Book:

The Scrambled States of America would be good to help children learn the states in the same way that Alpha Oops helps younger students with the alphabet. Since the states are shown multiple times with their names written within their borders, this would be a good book to help with learning the shape of each state as well as to discuss how counties and cities are contained within the state. Students could research their home state (or other favorite states) and make reports of the produce, cities, population etc.

This book is an interesting addition to a geography unit. Especially since there's a game that a teacher could purchase to go along with the book. Since there are so many small snippets of dialogue around the page and since it's hard to read the states' names unless the reader looks closely, this would probably be best as an independent read or a read aloud with only a couple of children.

This book can also be used with students who are putting on a talent show or other school performance since the book explore issues like stage fright and how to deal with it.


Favorite Quotes:

"It all started quite simply, really. In the middle of the night, New York woke up from a dream and shouted "Hey everyone--Let's have a talent show!"

"Just before intermission, The New States on the Block brought the audience to their feet!"

"Pennsylvania played a peppy tune on the Liberty Bell."

another visit with some of our favorite characters
Laurie Keller is a genius.
It is not always evident to parents how funny her books will be for kids but my son goes back to them over and over. We've been reading them since about the age of 4 but he really got into them after we saw The Scrambled States of America on DVD. The characters came alive and it changed the book for him until he got old enough to work through it on his own.
The characters are endearing. My son is now 8 and he completely cracks up because he remembers what they did in the last book and how it ties in to the Talent Show book. He loves all the silly speech bubbles scattered throughout. Honestly, he laughs out loud when reading Laurie Keller books.
We also have Do Unto Otters, Open Wide School Tooth Inside, and Arnie the Doughnut which are hits as well. (The Tooth book you can actually use as a diary of when your kid loses their teeth...it's not meant for that but there is a diagram of all the teeth inside the front cover and we just wrote dates next to each tooth.)