Get your child to discover America starting
with their home state. (Photo: Sleeping
Bear Press)
This 4th of July weekend, parents can encourage their school aged kids to celebrate America and sharpen their reading skills over summer break with the Discover America series published by Sleeping Bear Press.
There are 51 books in the entire collection; one for each state as well as A is for America, which combines original poetry with colorful illustrations. Each book describes the history, environment, famous citizens and industries of each state with each letter of the alphabet as a starting point. An obvious choice for local kids is S is for Sunshine: A Florida Alphabet, which was written by Bradenton based author Carol Crane and illustrated by Michael Glenn Monroe.
Here is a sampling from S is for Sunshine, which is available at Borders, Barnes and Noble and Amazon.com:
Orange Blossom starts with O,
The fragrance is so sweet.
It is the state flower of Florida,
And the fruit is good to eat.
P is for Pirates,
raiding Spanish ships of gold.
Sunken ships, buried treasure,
stories of adventure told.
S is for Sunshine aptly describes some of the more obvious attributes of Florida--including "A is for Alligator" and "W is for Walt Disney World"--plus a number of geographical and historical facts that kids might not known about their home state (detailed descriptions are in the margins for more advanced readers).
Best of all, reading any of the Discover America books with your child will get the entire family in the spirit of the Independence Day celebrations this weekend.
For more info: Get more 4th of July ideas for kids from FamilyFun.com.
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