What a hoot! A picture book about the fifty states, narrated by a bespectacled bald eagle holding a microphone and perched on the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Below him is a colorful map of the U.S., surrounded by little framed portraits of each state's bird. "Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the United Tweets of America Pageant. As your national Big Bird, I have the honor to introduce the fine feathered Americans who represent this great land." Turn the page to start the alphabetical parade, with one state per dazzling page. The yellowhammer or northern flicker of Alabama, is perched on the handle of a yellow hammer, and the black-billed bird murmurs, "'Scuse me, y'all—I'm a huntin' for some state bugs." Each bird has a little something to say (the brown thrasher from Georgia is warbling “Georgia on My Mind”), and each page provides a paragraph of facts about the bird; a little outline of the state, with the capital identified; the state's motto; and a fact or two of interest, including, for many of the states, a list of famous folks from those parts.

This browser's picnic will provide no end of laughs, as these birds are mighty saucy. Puns and visual jokes abound. A male and female American goldfinch from Iowa are posed like the pitchfork-wielding farmer and his wife from Grant Wood’s classic painting, American Gothic. There's a bit of a bird brawl at the end, when the eagle is about to announce the Top Tweet, but they soon break into a rousing chorus of “America the Beautiful,” with which your kids are welcome to sing along.

Ramble across America with picture books like Laurie Keller's jaunty The Scrambled States of America and its sequel, The Scrambled States of America Talent Show, plus Marjorie Priceman's How to Make a Cherry Pie and See the U.S.A. Dan Yaccarino's Go, Go America takes a family trip across each state, and incorporates plenty of facts, too.


THEMES: BIRDS. FACTS. GEOGRAPHY. MAPS. STATE BIRDS. UNITED STATES.