Our California

by Pam Muñoz Ryan

Re-illustrated and re-designed, OUR CALIFORNIA (previously CALIFORNIA, HERE WE COME!) is a lively tour of award-winning author Pam Muñoz Ryan's home state. Spirited poems celebrate California's major cities and regions. Backmatter includes state symbols and additional information about each place.

Bold paintings by illustrator Rafael López capture the spirit of the land.

Genres: Picture Books, Poetry, Nonfiction, Childrens, Geography, Nature, History

48 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2008

About the author

Pam Muñoz Ryan is the author of the New York Times Best Seller, ECHO, a 2016 Newbery Honor Book, and winner of the Kirkus Prize. She has written over forty books for young people—picture books, early readers, and middle grade and young adult novels. She the author recipient of the NEA's Human and Civil Rights Award, the Virginia Hamilton Literary Award, the Willa Cather Award, the Pura Belpré medal, the PEN USA award, and many others. Her novels include Esperanza Rising, Riding Freedom, Becoming Naomi León, Paint the Wind, The Dreamer, and Echo. She was born and raised in Bakersfield, California, holds a bachelor's and master's degree from San Diego State University and lives in north San Diego county with her family.

Reviews

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a nice intro to the geography and history of California, via major locations of (historical, not necessarily present-day) significance.

Notes at the end give more information about the cities' histories, as well as showing the various State Emblems.

The brightly colorful illustrations by Rafael Lopez are great. They are acryllic on grained wood, with textures added by scraping and distressing.

[Lauren · Rating 5 out of 5]

Was this published by the California Board of Tourism? Gorgeous illustrations and interesting California facts in the back of the book.

[Sunday · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rhyming text

[Shauna Masura · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's easy to explore all that the Golden State has to offer in this spirited collection of rhymes. Our California, by Pam Munoz Ryan, is full of short, celebratory poems for young children about famous places in the state of California. The illustrations, by Raphael Lopez, exude rich colors, vivid landscapes, and exotic animals in a folksy style. The diverse characters featured in the illustrations breakthrough stereotypes and add a new level of depth and importance to the book. It's not often that one will find a brown-skinned settler alongside an African American Hollywood director alongside a female surfer. The illustrations are large enough to share with a crowd and are also oriented in different directions, so the book can be flipped unexpectedly- a fun addition to regular story time programs. the vocabulary and construction of the poems are rather verbose and difficult to follow. However, there are many informative back pages that accompany the poetic text, with a selection to illuminate each of the poems. It might be helpful for younger audiences to discuss the accompanying back page with each poem as it is read. Recommended for elementary students.

[Kraig Barth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is packed full of information that can be used across a variety of content areas. It breaks down the cities within California and uses fun rhymes to make learning each city fun and memorable. In terms of social studies, this book i a great geography resource as it talks about cities all over California. It also includes a map with pictures to help the reader follow along with the story. For science, the book identifies climate conditions and animals that can be discussed and expanded upon. I definitely see this book being a beneficial learn and can be used to make lessons fun.

[Marcela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall, I thought this was a wonderful children's book. Pam Muñoz Ryan did a wonderful job describing different places in California and giving reads a quick little summary of the 14 cities she talks about the end of the book. Ryan uses a very fun text when writing the description on each page, also she bolds the name of each of the locations to make it easy for the reader to know which city she is talking about. The book's illustrations have a cartoonish element to it and the illustrator, Rafael Lopez uses very bright colors giving it almost Latin vibe to it. If we examine the front cover, we notice that there are two children sitting on a hill holding a map of California which gives the reader that insight about what the book will be about. There are also different parts of each city spread across the cover in a mural form. I honestly love this book for the fact that the author and illustrator are both Latino and that they give the book that Latin vibe.

[Heleina Conejos · Rating 4 out of 5]

Summary: Ryan gives her readers a quick yet colorful tour of her home state of California. She goes through the main cities of California, with a quick explanation of what the city is known for towards the top of the page paired with a more detailed description at the bottom.

Classroom use: This book would be a good choice to read out loud for students in the 2nd to 4th grade not only because of its colorful presentation, but also because of the way Ryan presents California. This book is also a great resource for students who are doing a project on California because of its more informational nature.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

bright cheery busy illustrations. teaches about different regions of california with rhyme. good geography primer. several pages in the back dedicated to facts about each town mentioned. I adore Pam Munoz Ryan and this certainly was one of her best yet! I just wish I lived in California and had an excuse to buy it and give it to little children.

[Sam Bloom · Rating 3 out of 5]

The illustrations are beautiful, but I was pretty unimpressed with Munoz Ryan's rhyming text. I guess I was expecting more from the author of Esperanza Rising... I guess I'd recommend it to California folks, but otherwise, I'd skip it.

[Kathleen Heroux · Rating 5 out of 5]

Geography and history lessons are presented with text placed within a patchwork of illustrations. Along with a mapped trail to follow at the start of the book, information of greater depth floows the end of the trail.

[Shaeley Santiago · Rating 3 out of 5]

Take a quick tour through California. Beautiful illustrations and short descriptions of 14 different places in California are included in this book. The back of the book contains more detailed notes about each location.

[G. G. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of my favorite books, the colors represent what California really look like. The book touches on what makes California such a magical place, from the tallest trees in the world to the, and the diversity in landscapes. This is a book I keep on my coffee table along with Chalk.

[Dan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a great book talking about California specifically and giving some great information about different cities in a fun way. This is done in a fictional way, but wonderful for kids. I would like to use it for my map unit to show how to talk about one state.

[Chris]

I love the illustrations in this book about the state of California. Fun little rhymes accompany the illustrations for each city featured. In the back, there is additional information about each city.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely stunning book. The illustrations are so lush and beautiful, they really captured the attention of my kiddos. This book gives a short tidbit of information about the vast and varied areas around California and was a fabulous addition to our California unit study!

[Tiffiny · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it!! The illustrations were fantastic as well.

[Sarah Mae · Rating 3 out of 5]

Beautiful paintings accompany short, rhyming poems that take the reader on a journey through the landscapes and history of California. More information about each area is given at the end.

[Alyson (Kid Lit Frenzy) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A colorfully illustrated look at California from San Diego to beyond San Francisco. Loved the information about the cities/towns included at the end.

[Emily]

This book is a wonderful way to travel through California with illustrations and details. Pam Muñoz Ryan guides you through her home state of California with rhythmic passages that take you on a trip through San Diego, Sacramento, Yosemite, Los Angeles, the Central Valley, and others. The 14 different cities allow you to hear their histories, activities to off, or beautiful landscapes to experience.

A delight for both children and adults, it is a chance to connect to the state with a fun adventure through literature. Many students do not have the opportunity to travel. Incorporating this story into a classroom would allow them to have a preview of the state, while exploring different places to add to their "wish to see" list. The book can be use cross-curricular in the classroom. You may use it as social studies, writing, and "I see/I wonder" and other ways to involve students in the state of CA.

[Cara (Wilde Book Garden) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Of course this made my California heart happy. It was really cool to be familiar with all the places covered (most of them I've actually been to!), and the art style is gorgeous and so vibrant. I also really liked that variety in terms of geography and history was a huge emphasis here (it's not all beaches, y'all!), and learned some really interesting things from the book (mainly the end) despite being familiar with a lot of other parts.

I do really wish the book had emphasized Native people and cultures a lot more - the facts section at the end is great, and it includes more information about Native Americans, but I really think that should have been much more present in the main part of the book.

CW: References to genocide, fire

[Steph · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like I give the same review to every single picture book that I read:

"but the illustrations are so gorgeous!"

And of course, they are. The story is told in rhyme, and the poetry reads like a love letter to California. If you want your child to be inspired by the state of California and all that it has to offer, this book offers grey whales, grizzlies, deserts, redwood trees, Yosemite, surf in San Diego, and gold in Eureka. And more.

Huge recommend for this picture book.

[Nadia L. Hohn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has had me Calfornia dreaming. It is a rhyming picture book which I’ve been told that publishers don’t like or won’t take because it is hard to translate. Yet, here we are. The illustrations and words paint the tale of a land of plenty, where dreams are born, and fortunes made. I think this book could have been a little more diverse by introducing more groups that helped to build this mega state-nation (it’s population size rivals Canada). Great work!

[Our Weekend Is Booked · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved the illustrations and the use of bright colors. This book did a great job of showing the different areas of California and my boys were most interested in that California had desert areas. They knew famous places like Disney Land and San Francisco so this showed them that California has everything from desert to shore.

[Brandilan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up in California and see the commercials of it being romanticized and I'm just not a fan but this books made me fall in love with it again. Gorgeous illustrations and great history on each area.

[Ashley Cairney · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has amazing colorful illustrations. It shows you all of the different regions of California. It's an easy read, but it has lots of information. There's additional information in the back regarding each region, which is nice.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

The rhyming sentences give it a weird cadence, but the art is super cute and a good homage to the state I grew up in. Although the Monterrey Bay Aquarium didn't get mentioned :p

[Sarah Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun and colorful overview of California!

[Cortny Green · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our California is a fun poem that allows kids to explore and learn new things about California.
The GA Standard: ELAGSE1RL7 Use illustrations and details in a story to describe its characters,
setting, or events.

Using this standard, you can have the students individually or in small groups create a map of California. Draw or paste on the map the areas that were described in the poem. They can then add details about the setting of each city or place.

[Emma Gustafson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book from using the Author. I found Pam Ryan on a list of multicultural authors. This is one of her many amazing books. This book is a journey through California and stops at fourteen cities that are found in California. Although this book is not very multicultural it does have a variety of races represented through out the book. For a Non-fiction book on a state it covers diversity as much as possible in my opinion. The pictures are beautiful - filled with color and detail it is intriguing for any reader. The pictures have a bit of a modern day Eric Carle feel with the vibrant textures. I would recommend this book for a lesson on California. It explains the cities well and gives a brief history of the state. Interestingly this is a reprint of the book. It was first made similarly but without the amazing pictures it has today.