Haily Meyers

I loved the idea of a book on national parks for preschool children. This one is mostly filled with a nicely drawn illustration which will appeal to children,the name of the park, a phrase describing the park, and one or more things associated with the park labelled. Since Great Smoky Mountains National Park is about 30 to 45 minutes away, depending on traffic, I'll use it as an illustration. The phrase is "Savoring the fall colors." The things associated with the park are backpacks, tents, show more kayaks, marshmallows, flashlights, and squirrel. Personally I love the park in all its seasons! I was a bit disappointed a few other parks were omitted. Shenandoah or Everglades would have been nice to include for more representation East of the Mississippi. Denali and Hawaii Volcanoes would have been nice additions to expand beyond the "lower 48." Still, it's a nice introduction for youngsters going on their first camping trip. show less

This is part of a new series I haven't previously looked at - All Aboard! Each previous title takes the reader to a different state or large city. This one is a bit of a departure as it takes readers through various national parks.

Each spread is labeled with a different activity in a different park. One spread shows the train passing by a geyser, with a row of observers and a few bison in the background. This is labeled as Yellowstone. Against a vivid pink and yellow sky, a mountain goat show more stands on a ridge and an orca leaps in the ocean of Olympic. Each spread has one animal identified with a label, the name of the park, and the train somewhere in the illustration.

There is enough detail in the illustrations to catch the interest of older children and larger items for younger listeners to focus on. There are people pictured in a few spreads and a few have darker skin but most are white. The illustrations are a little rough around the edges; they sometimes look as though they are collages that weren't put together exactly right.

Verdict: Although this isn't perfect, it's a delightfully unique title and manages to incorporate older concepts (wildlife, national parks, geography) in a manner that is suitable for its audience of young listeners.

ISBN: 9781423642367; Published 2016 by Gibbs Smith; Review copy provided by the publisher; Donated to the library show less

Cute Lift-the-Flap with animal goodbyes in the style of "see you later, alligator." The facing page gives a hint to which animal may be under the flap.

Firstly, I did not get this was a wildlife primer

Secondly, don't use two animals on a page--one being far larger than the other and yet the small one is use to show "footprints" of at the end of the book

Thirdly, I get the train but really? You illustrated it going through Old Faithful.

Fourthly, the text kind of sucked. Either make it rhyme or make it flow. ANYTHING to not appear abrupt. As this totally did.