My First Atlas of the 50 States

by Georgia Beth, Sara Lynn Cramb (Illustrations)

In this bright and colorful atlas, journey through all of America's 50 states, from Alabama to Wyoming, to learn what makes each one special—featuring each state's most iconic animals, most amazing natural wonders, and most famous landmarks.

Go sight-seeing in California to find the famous Hollywood sign, journey through the mountains in Idaho to spot a black bear, and venture north in New York state to view the beautiful Niagara Falls. There's so much to see!

Every state has its own dedicated page containing feature boxes and "Fast Facts" panels , while a map of the full country shows how each state fits into the USA. This exciting first atlas engages young readers, encouraging them to learn about their own country—a must for any young citizen's book shelf.

Genres: Nonfiction

64 pages, Hardcover

Published September 17, 2019

Reviews

[Betsy · Rating 2 out of 5]

My head hurts...

My First Atlas of the 50 States broke my brain a bit. Crowded and confusing are the first two words that come to mind.

Ok, I know I can be a bit geographically challenged/unobservant sometimes...but since when did we move the Statue of Liberty inland and relocate our nation's capital to southern Pennsylvania??


We've got some other geographical head scratchers here, too. It might be convenient to rotate the states all willy-nilly for layout purposes, but this is a book for children. Let's keep north at the top of the page, shall we?


The states are littered with itty bitty clip art icons. Thankfully, they're labeled, as I would've been stumped trying to identify some of the things plunked on top of even my home state. Like what is this supposed to be?

(Silly me--apparently, the correct answer is...Putnam Memorial State Park?)

On top of that, the clip art seemed to be chosen and placed pretty haphazardly. I didn't see much rhyme or reason to any of it.

Then there's the writing. The descriptions are painfully dry, and some of the sentence structure is rough, to put it nicely.

What does this have going for it? The tiny photographs plunked on each page are actually vibrant and interesting. Dump the clip art and clunky layouts, and make a book that uses those instead!

1.5 stars. I'd skip this one and choose another resource to help kids learn about the 50 states.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a DRC of this book, which will be available for purchase on September 17th.

[Leah Horton · Rating 4 out of 5]

My First Atlas of the 50 States is a vividly illustrated book for children with information on all fifty states. Each page has information and illustrations about the state, including fun facts, the capitol, little blurbs about things each state is known for and biggest tourist attractions.

I enjoyed this book. It is a great learning tool for kids and a really great visual for road trips!

[Isabelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

My First Atlas of the 50 States by Georgia Beth is a cute little starter atlas for small kids. It has very basic facts and cute little illustrations but it is not a book I would recommend to anyone that wants more than a glance about each state. I do like how the bright colors and short sentences could help a small child just starting out reading stay focused.

[Aimee Dars · Rating 4 out of 5]

Colorful and enticing, My First Atlas of the 50 States offers a wonderful introduction to geography for the beginning reader. Presented geographically by region, each state is given a page with a brief description, often including the origin of the states name (many of which I didn’t know), what the state is known for, and other key facts. For example, the book notes that most of the country’s airline production is completed in Kansas!

Each page has a call out “Fast Facts” box with the state’s size, population, date it joined the country, nickname, and state bird—all facts handy to have in single location. The only photographs are notable tourist attractions, such as the gateway arch in Missouri or the San Antonio River Walk in Texas. The states themselves are vibrantly illustrated and include adorable icons of animals, flora, and landmarks. Capitals and major cities, but no roads or minor cities are indicated.

Of course, having to select such a small amount of information for each state would be challenging and requires making difficult decisions about what to include, but it seemed Beth avoided difficult topics. As a native Oklahoman, I was shocked that the Oklahoma City National Memorial wasn’t one of the points of interest. Slavery and racism were addressed, though described as “a difficult time.” I understand this allows guardians to decide how to discuss the issue with children, but it also seems to negate an important part of the South’s reality.

While I loved the illustrations of the maps and the icons they included, they could at times be confusing. New York has a marker for the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum but the city in which it is located isn’t marked, so the icon seems to be floating in the middle of the state. There is a hot dog icon, too, I suppose in honor of New York City’s street vendors, but it is placed “not to scale.” Maryland has an icon for jousting which is never explained. Still, I think children will enjoy looking at the icons and identifying them, especially those that represent animals—at least I did!

The book, though, does what it promises—provides a great first atlas for young readers to help them learn about the basic geography of the country and facts of the states.

[joyce w. laudon · Rating 3 out of 5]

When I was about ten years old, my mom bought be an atlas of the U.S. that was published by Golden Books. I had been wanting the book for some time. I thought about how much I enjoyed that book when I received this one in exchange for an honest review from NetGalley and the publisher.

This book is an excellent and interesting introduction to the United States. Following a welcome page, there is a section on the biomes of North America and then the states...each one has beautifully, lively illustrated pages. Readers will learn "Fast Facts." These include the size and population of the state, along with when it joined the Union, the State nickname and the State bird. Each map has pictures imposed on it that show sites, crops, animals and more. There are also additional illustrations that highlight places to visit. For example, there is the Grand Ole Opry in Tennessee, the Crystal Bridges Museum in Arkansas, the mansions in Newport, Rhode Island and so much more.

Help a child you know to learn geography. This book can be read in the order given or randomly. It is a good resource and will be enjoyed by both adults and kids.

[KayKay · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed reading "My First Atlas of the 50 States." This is a perfect version for young children. The different imprint of the publisher released an advanced version few years ago but that version includes far too much information for young children to absorb. I am delighted to know the publisher introduces a starter book on the same subject for younger readers.

1- The organization of the content is easy to follow. Instead of listing the states in alphabetical order, the book starts from the west coast and slowly moves to the east. This arrangement is perfect for children (even for adults) to create a mental map of the U.S. states geographically as readers flip through the pages.

2- Contents include succinct information readers should know about each state. No overloading with graphics or text which is great for retaining readers' interests and concentration.

3- The book also includes a catchy U.S. map with very brief history about the country. A spread about the North America continent and the biomes map of the North America region is such a thoughtful touch.

This is a definite book to keep and to own.

[Theediscerning · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book serves its purpose well, giving us all a basic grounding in the 50 different US states. We get a map of the country, and then of the continent's biomes, before we spread out and absorb the states one by one. The maps are suitably colourful, showing the main cities, and the location of the more major sites – some of which (Mt Rushmore, the Gateway Arch etc) get a separate sentence or two as caption. The rest of the space is peppered with suitable fauna and other details geographers would likely note. A small data box on each page lets you learn just how many have the same state bird, which is something of no use whatsoever outside of the US, but I'll forgive this book for going down that route. It is, after all, very good. It might have given separate space to DC, I thought, and it doesn't say why Indiana, at most a third of the way from the eastern side, is called Midwestern, but that's again for the Americans to address. A strong four stars.

[Jill · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – QEB for My First Atlas of the 50 States by Georgia Beth. This is an atlas full of fun facts about each state. Each state has a list of “Fast Facts” that include size, population, nickname, state bird (the western meadowlark and the northern cardinal each represent several states), and the date the state joined the union. Each state also has small icons decorating it that represent animals, landmarks, main attractions, etc. in each state. This book is informative and fun to read. I learned that Oregon has Moon Country lava fields were astronauts trained to walk on the moon. Idaho means “Gem of the Mountains.” Kansas has a Wizard of Oz Museum. And Alabama’s Dismals Canyon Conservatory has glow worms. This atlas would be a fun read for anyone.

[Heather Johnson · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you are searching for a map book that focuses on the United States for the littlest readers, I definitely recommend checking out My First Atlas of the 50 States written by Georgia Beth with illustrations by Sara Lynn Cramb. The colorful atlas is recommended for children in preschool through kindergarten. My toddler and preschooler definitely enjoy flipping through the pages, and my third grader likes reading the fast facts about each state. The book is a good introduction to the United States and maps in general. My First Atlas of the 50 States is a new favorite in The Parenting Patch house!

[Bethany · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun introduction for young readers! Definitely includes some creative license on spacing and some states are situated sideways on the page... I think this was done in order to make the state as large as possible. Some of the landmarks are a little off, possibly so they could be larger and more visible. For my five year old it was a good introduction to states, climates, state parks, landmarks, and biomes!

[CloudOfThoughts_Books Keirstin · Rating 4 out of 5]

My First Atlas of the United States is an educational book that is perfect for little readers! They will learn something new about each and every state in the USA! We loved it!

Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Fern · Rating 2 out of 5]

On the surface, a colourful and entertaining atlas of the 50 American states but unfortunately underneath lacks a distinct uniqueness that I was really hoping for.

[Chanel · Rating 5 out of 5]

My First Atlas of the 50 States by Georgia Beth is a great book for kids to be introduced to the world. The illustrations are bright and fun. My child loved it.

[Andréa]

Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

[Grunge SeaBunny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wish adult books were this fun to look at

[Rather.be.reading1 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great great book about the United States! It has great facts about each state and beautiful illustrations. I wish I had a book like this when I was a kid. Thank you for the opportunity to read and review this book.