Review by Booklist Review
From its glittery cover to marquee-style bibliography, this has lots of fun with the traveling Farley family: Mom in cat-eye glasses, Dad in a windowpane-plaid suit, kids Freddie and Fran, and dog Fido are driving through all 50 states a map provides the route. Each state gets a one- or two-page display, and there's all kinds of info: it takes 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of Vermont maple syrup; the shopping cart was invented in Ardmore, Kansas. Silly laws (it's illegal for a chicken to cross the road in Quitman, Georgia) and random facts fill the pages to a dizzying degree. The book design, featuring brightly colored backgrounds, sharp-edged images, and facts in more fonts and shapes than can be counted, matches the frenetic text. All 50 states are in alphabetical order at the end, with their capitals, state birds and flowers, etc. Adrienne Yorinks' The Quilt of States (2005) is prettier and more stately, but this is undeniably fun.--DeCandido, GraceAnne A. Copyright 2008 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
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 From funny outdated laws (in Atlanta it's illegal to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole) to weird tourist attractions (e.g., West Virginia's roadkill cook-off), the Farleys take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.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
(c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
The fictional Farleys take a U.S. road trip. Each page or double-page spread focuses on one state, providing unusual facts including strange laws, weird museums, favorite foods, and historical firsts, all illustrated in Yaccarino's retro style. Though the presentation is frenetic, readers may be inspired to look for similarly unique state information after enjoying this introduction to our diverse country. Websites. Bib. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Yaccarino sends readers whose ride aboard Peter S"s's Train of States (2004) has only whetted an appetite for random facts, quirky laws and roadside attractions on a somewhat more leisurely car trip from Maine to Hawaii. Each state (plus Washington, D.C.) gets a page or spread strewn with snippets of eminently shareable trivia--from horse, camel, car, lizard or bathtub races to festivals highlighting the culinary delights of pickles, frog legs and roadkill. Places range from the hometowns of lawn flamingoes and miniature golf to places where it's illegal to sleep in boots (Oklahoma) or tease a skunk (Minneapolis). Though Yaccarino provides visual links with small cartoon figures of a tourist family, plus frequent glimpses of Bigfoot, the art really takes a back seat to the multiple sizes, fonts and colors of the text. He doesn't get all of his facts straight either--the nation's first subway wasn't in Boston, and it's misleading to claim that Arkansas's Crater of Diamonds State Park is "the only place in the world where people can keep the gems they find." Still, browsers will find this hard to put down, and more systematic sorts will linger over the closing chart of state capitals, mottos and the like. (source list) (Nonfiction. 7-11) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
