S is for Smithsonian: America's Museum Alphabet

by Marie Smith, Roland Smith, Gijsbert van Frankenhuyzen (Illustrator)

Where can one find the world's largest mounted African elephant? Or the world's largest blue diamond? Why, at the world's largest museum complex and research organization, of course!

In S is for Smithsonian readers can take an armchair tour of the incredible exhibitions and collections found in the Smithsonian Museum. When it opened in 1855, no one could have imagined that the Smithsonian Museum would grow to include 19 museums, nine research centers, or over 130 million objects, artworks, and specimens collected from all over the world.

With over 25 million visitors a year, the Smithsonian truly is the world's largest museum!

See the airplane Amelia Earhart flew on her solo Atlantic flight. Admire diamond earrings that once belonged to Marie Antoinette. From A-Z, S is for Smithsonian explores the amazing objects and memorable displays that are part of this remarkable museum.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Nonfiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published March 1, 2010

Reviews

[Barbara]

Disappointing. Having visited the Smithsonian numerous time I felt that the items selected were not truly representative of the museum.

[Sara Bland]

This is a fabulous book to use in many different situations! This is a great book just for learning basic information about different things you might find in a museum, but even more fantastic to use if your students were about to take a trip to a museum--especially the Smithsonian! Another way to use this would be for learning the alphabet. On each page is a different letter, with a new creature (and some facts). This is a really fun book with big pages and great illustrations. I would recommend this for students k-2 and even for older children who are about to take a trip to the museum, or who are doing research.

[Denise]

Picked this up at the Smithsonian Castle for my ABC book collection while visiting many of the Smithsonian museums on our recent trip to Washington DC.

[Elizabeth S]

Kinda fun. Readers learn a lot about a few objects as the Smithsonian. Hard to pick the best ones--so probably no one is satisfied.

[Clara]

Wonderful book.

[Dolly]

This book offers a fascinating look at the (almost too numerous to count) museums, exhibits and galleries that are part of the Smithsonian Institution. Even though we have lived in the area for over five years and have visited many of the locations mentioned, we learned a lot from reading this book.

The entries are informative, but provide just a taste of what is available in the exhibits. It's very interesting to see what is considered representative for the various sites.

The illustrations are terrific and really capture the essence and excitement of what it's like to see the items in person. We took our time reading this book, focusing on just one or two letters at a time in order to more fully appreciate the breadth and scope of what is part of the entire collection. And best of all, they are free to the general public.

I hope that this book encourages readers to visit, and I love that it encourages people to see what is available online and through television programming. I also really appreciate that the book is dedicated to the docents and volunteers. We really enjoyed reading this book together.

[Shannon]

If my family planned a trip to DC when I was little, this book would have been necessary reading material. However, this awesome MICHIGAN press hadn't yet started its ABC-story-for-every-topic-ever-created binge. Heck, it hadn't even published its first (and my favorite) book, The Legend of Sleeping Bear.

I groaned when I saw this on the new book shelf, convinced it was a collaboration founded merely on the aspirations of crazy profits at Smithsonian museum stores (I certainly would have wanted to pick up a copy there. If my family had been so cruel and shortsighted to not get me one before our trip began).

The writing and rhyming is a bit cumbersome (rhyming Tin Lizzie is a formidable task), but I still learned a ton and am now dying to return to the nation's capital. (Last time, I went for 2.5 days and walked around museums until I literally could walk no further)

[Keri-Lynn]

Fairly good book that did a credible job of covering many of the Smithsonian's buildings, but I think it could have included a little more on some of the museums. High marks for including a map of the various buildings on the mall and in DC, and mentioning some that are not. I would have liked a little more from this one.

[Egita Gabaliņa]

S is for Smithsonian is a great book where you can learn information of history. Each letter stands for one history fact or a little bit more. This is a great book to use in history class. I would suggest this book for those who love history and for those who wants to learn something new in different way. I think this book stands more for middle school and up.

[Liz]

An alphabet book in honor of an American institution--the Smithsonian. So many interesting facts...definitely encourages an actual visit to this Washington D.C. treasure! My favorite on a visit many years ago...the ruby red slippers from the Wizard of Oz!

[Jeanette Johnson]

Informative alphabet book which takes you through a variety of rooms and floors of the Smithsonian Museum.

[Kathy]

I learn so many interesting facts when I read this series. There is a book for every state, several countries, and many fascinating subjects. They are certainly not just for kids!