Shirley Menendez

In my opinion, this is a great book. Since I was born and raised in Maryland I thought it was really neat to read about the different history, landmarks, and other things associated with my home state. One aspect of this book that I thought was really special was the two different stories in this book; the two different fonts and consistent locations on each page distinguished between the two. One “story” was simple rhymes about each letter’s topic that younger children would be show more interested in, and the rhyme was located directly on the illustration with larger font. The other “story” was very a very detailed, expository text for older children; this chunk of text was located on the colored border of the page and smaller font was used. I really liked how one book could entertain two different age groups simultaneously. A child would be able to read or understand the rhyme but then grow older and be able to understand and read the detailed text, too. I also enjoyed the oil-like illustrations on each page. Sometimes one letter would take up both pages and the illustration would cross the gutter, whereas other times there would be one letter on the left and another on the right. Regardless of that, each illustration was very vivid and portrayed each topic beautifully. I also love when informational books have “extensions” for readers to take part in and this book had a “quiz/questionnaire” at the end to see what the readers learned. In terms of content, I thought it was very creative how sometimes the topic discussed on each page, did not necessarily directly match to the letter. For example, the letter X page had the rhyme, “X stands for X-rays which you can get at Johns Hopkins Hospital where medical needs are met.” Thus the X page does not discuss something that starts with the letter X. I thought this was really neat. All in all, I really liked this book! The big idea of this book is to learn about different aspects of Maryland in a creative way. show less

The main idea of this book is to showcase the important features that make Maryland a unique, historical, and beautiful place.
I liked this book for its realistic, yet artistic and beautiful illustrations. This is important for young readers who should see realistic representations of important Maryland landmarks, but also can be engaged by the beautiful artwork. For example, on the "A is for Annapolis" page, a beautiful painting of Main Street in Annapolis is pictured. The State House is show more visible in the background, there are midshipmen walking past Kilwin's icecream, etc. Annapolis is very dear to my heart and I found this portrayal very beautiful. I could recognize many familiar places and still be engaged by beautiful paintings.
I also really enjoyed the layout and presentation of information in this book. For example, for each letter a brief poem is written (C is for the Chesapeake Bay/whose sandy shores are a delight/Its waters are home to crabs and clams/ while graceful birds are seen in flight." This brief rhyme will be perfect for younger readers, but readers in 4th or 5th grade may read the two paragraphs included on the side of each painting/letter. These paragraphs go into greater detail about each particular Maryland feature. For example, on the Chesapeake Bay page, the paragraphs discuss the Bay, Chesapeake Bay Retrievers, what you can find in the Bay, etc. show less

I found this book to be absolutely stellar. The language used in this book varies of which section is being read. The first section includes detailed expository text for older children, while the second section includes simple facts that rhyme for younger children. For example, “H stands for Historic battles, where brave soldiers led the fight during the American Civil War for what they believed was right.” The section meant for older children contains two paragraphs describing historic show more battles that occurred in Maryland. The writing in this piece, once again varies, yet but sections are organized by alphabetical order. The first section contains no less than five sentences, while the second section contains two sentences at most. This text has no characters as its purpose is to inform and not to entertain through anything more than facts and is also told from the third person point of view. While the plot is organized, there is no climax or conflict as it is once again simply and playfully sharing just the facts. Laura Stutzman’s illustrations are a wonderful addition to this book. These pictures not only enhance the author’s words, but also provide a unique and yet general depiction of what is being described. For example, when describing Camden Yards, a young boy with a baseball is seen admiring the statue of a baseball player outside of the entrance to Camden Yards. Both sections in this text are appealing to readers, the first section is best suited for readers who are truly looking to learn about the topic, while the second section is simple and playful to keep the attention of younger readers while teaching them about current and accurate information. This text pushes readers to explore the history of their state, which in this case, is Maryland. The main idea for this text would have to be that each state is unique! show less

I liked this book for many reasons. The thing I like most about this book is that it contains both nonfiction information and poetry on every page. For every letter of the alphabet, information and a short poem are given, along with illustrations. The illustrations are very detailed and allow the reader to see exactly what the information is referring to. The book focuses mainly on landmarks in Maryland. If the reader has never visited these places, they are able to clearly see what the show more information is focusing on. The information is accurate and current. The amount of information is appropriate for the audience. I don’t think the amount of text on each page is overwhelming. I think the text includes a good amount of statistics. If a younger reader is struggling with the paragraphs, they could just focus on the poems on each page and be just as engaged in the text. I believe the big idea of this book is that there are many different parts to the state of Maryland. There are a lot of important historical events and a lot of important current events. I think the purpose behind this book is to show readers how diverse and interesting the state is. show less