Sleeping Bear Press Books in Alphabet Format

My grandsons and I are excited over the discovery of Sleeping Bear Press books. We are fascinated by every one of their books that we have read so far. We have been exploring the alphabetically formated books. The boys love saying the letters as we explore the books. We are enjoying such topics as music, China, inventions, soccer, cats, and race cars. These fun books allow me to introduce advanced topics to my young grandsons in a manner appropriate for them.

Sleeping Bear Press has published a collection of books, one on each state and one for Washington, D.C. The books are filled with intriguing facts, people, places and history for each of the states. Each two-page layout is brightly colored with captivating illustrations that children will love. Done in an alphabetical format, each letter has text at two levels. The larger print text is done in rhyme at a level for preschool to second grade. In the side bar more information is given in greater detail for the older child.

B is for Badger studies Wisconsin. Letter A gives us a look at the American Water Spaniel, which was adopted as the official state dog in 1985. Also shared is information on the Apostle Islands, a federal preserve area on Bayfield Peninsula. Letter M looks at Madison, the capital and also at Muskellunge "Muskie," the official state fish. The alphabet comes to a close with Z, of course. Z brings us a look at two of the wonderful zoos in Wisconsin. At the end of the book are some questions that cover material learned in the book. An answer key is also provided.

We have been going through these state books as an introduction to the United States with my preschool grandsons. They are delighted with the illustrations, pointing out familiar objects and questioning the new items. The simple rhying text gives them just enough information. I plan that we will go through all the books again when they are older and will find the expanded information interesting.

One additional plus for this collection of books is there are teacher guides to go with each. These are available online in PDF format at no charge. They can be downloaded at http://www.gale.com/DiscoverAmerica/guides/index.htm . These teacher guides provide material to make an exciting unit with each book.

There are also teacher guides in PDF format for many of the other books. The teacher guides can be viewed and downloaded at http://www.sleepingbearpress.com/educators/ .

As I was viewing the website today in preparing this review, I find that a new series of books is emerging on the states. The books are done with numbers. I can't wait to check out these books as well.