The Train of States: A Picture Book About the 50 States and U.S. Geography for Kids

by Peter Sís

Peter Sís is an internationally acclaimed author, artist, and filmmaker. He was born in Brno, Czechoslovakia, and graduated from the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague. He also studied at the Royal College of Art in London. His picture books for children include Play, Mozart, Play! ; the Caldecott Honor Books Through the Red Box and Starry Galileo Galilei ; the New York Times Best Illustrated Book Tree of Charles Darwin ; and several popular books inspired by his own children, such as Madlenka and Fire Truck . He has also illustrated bestselling books written by Jack Prelutsky, among them Scranimals and The Dragons are Singing Tonight .

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, History, Geography, Childrens, Graphic Novels

64 pages, Paperback

First published September 21, 2004

About the author

PETER SÍS is an internationally acclaimed illustrator, filmmaker, painter and author. Born in 1949 in Brno, Czechoslovakia, and grew up in Prague. He studied painting and filmmaking at the Academy of Applied Arts in Prague and the Royal College of Art in London. His animated work is in the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art. He came to America in 1982, and now lives in New York's Hudson Valley with his family. Peter Sís is the first children's book artist to be named a MacArthur Fellow. In 2012 he won The Hans Christian Andersen Award.

His many distinguished books include Starry Messenger: Galileo Galilei, Tibet: Through the Red Box, Madlenka, Rainbow Rhino, The Tree of Life: Charles Darwin, The Wall: Growing Up Behind the Iron Curtain, and The Conference of the Birds.

Reviews

[J9 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love this one, very educational but not really one to read in one sitting. More of a reference book for your shelf to look at the pictures occasionally. My son loved trying to find the states as I went through them, but got tired of it after about 20 states. I think I'll buy this one for home. Even my preschoolers loved it because the illustrations were trains. Lots of info about each state, pictures are very detailed. Great educational book!

[N_katieg52 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Choo! Choo! Hop aboard The Train of States! This exciting and energetic book encourages children and adults alike to hop aboard and learn information about each state. The reader will learn some wonderful facts about each state including: the reason for the state name, state capital, state tree, flower , bird, and a fun fact. The reader is also given the state number (train cars start with first state until Hawaii, the fiftieth state) as well as the date of statehood. Washington D.C. is also included as the “caboose” of the train. Each train car is elaborately decorated with items and words that are important to the state. The back of the book includes questions about each state and encourages the reader to find the story and information behind the pictures in each state train car. This book is meant to be a springboard for learning.

Children and adults will enjoy this book and learning more about the states. I truly enjoyed reading the different facts and the pictures that went along with the states. I know my students are always interested in their country and truly craving facts like this. I believe my second graders will enjoy this book as would students through junior high. We are lucky to live in a wonderful country and it’s always exciting to learn more about it, no matter your age. If your class is working on states, regions, or just wants to learn some more about our amazing fifty states- grab your conductor hat and enjoy the ride!

[Joy]

This book presents each of the fifty states as a train car. It starts with Delaware and ends with Hawaii because they put them in order from first state to last state. On each page it gives the date of statehood and tells the state's capitol, tree, flower, and bird. It also gives a fun fact for each state. The picture of the train car showed some significant things to that specific state.

My favorite was obviously Alaska. I also learned that the sun never sets for 84 days in the summer. I didn't know that fact, I just knew that Barrow was the "Land of the Midnight Sun."

I would use this in my classroom when we are studying the states and their capitols.

[Maria Rowe · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is such a fun book! I loved books about US states when I was a kid and still do. This is a really unique, fun way to represent different states. Each state has a circus wagon that’s decorated with people and things that from that area, the capitol, state tree, state flower, state bird, the date of statehood, how the state got its name and a fun fact. I really enjoyed these two fun facts: For Pennsylvania: “When legislators made the Great Dane the state dog in 1965, they voted with yips, growls and barks." For Nevada: “Hard hats were first invented in 1933 specifically for workers on the Hoover Dam.”

I really like that the states goes in order from the date of statehood vs. alphabetically. Peter Sís wrote in the back of the book that he was inspired to create this after visiting Circus World in Baraboo, Wisconsin!

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not really a book to read straight through (especially not aloud), but a great one to peruse or to use as a pointer for state study.

You could challenge people to find a state flower that isn't shared with any other state, or the tree that is state tree for the most states.

I do feel like the author was inspired by some states more than others -- there are cases when the circus train car is full-to-overflowing and other cases when it doesn't have as much information.

[Stellen · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book helped me cheat (I mean learn) while playing Stack the States. It had all the state flags, nicknames, and capitals. My favorite page was Arizona because it had a cute animal and because that’s where I lived.

[Luci · Rating 4 out of 5]

really fun for a year long state study.
Definitely had to use an atlas with it so we could see the state. I wish there had been a "find it" challenge for each state. loved the illustrations.

[Ro · Rating 5 out of 5]

👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍

[Kaitlyn]

This is great book to read if you are trying to learn the states! Every page has a state and some of what it is known for on it. This picture book is a wonderful way for children to not only memorize the states but what they are about! I would read this book to a 6th grade class trying to memorize all 50 states!!

[Q_Barb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This fact-filled books with information about the states is wonderfully told or more so, illustrated, by Sis. He said in his introduction that it stemmed from his affection for circus cars, so each state has its own page and becomes its own colorful circus car in a train. Each has the state mascots, flowers, animals, important events or people, etc. all worked into the design of the car.
It really is something to look at. It will, however, take some time to do that.
But I could really see this being part of a curriculum at different grades. With the younger grades, you could just focus on the primary figures, and then they could create a car for their classroom or grade, using animal cracker boxes, write a motto, etc.
With the older grades, those students could really look at the emblems in the cars and investigate why they are there, find connections between the states (many came into being at the same time. Why is that? many share other symbols, why is that?). They could write an essay explaining a car or each car or a group of cars by geographical proximity. And they could do the same as the younger grades create a car/state for their classroom, grade, school (many schools already have mascots, so it could be a submascot). They could create plays about their "new" state. I just think this book is different and thought provoking, as Peter Sis, seems to always be!
When I was in elementary school, we had to create these posters of states, and what their main economical product was , the capital, etc. They were boring to make and boring to look at.
This is a superbly better choice!

[Haley Hardwick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Personal Reaction: I really enjoyed this book because when I was in the first grade, my favorite thing to learn about was the different states. This book offers the information in a fun and unique way.

Purpose/Use in Classroom: This book would be great for a read aloud on a social studies unit directed towards first and second graders. This book could be used to discuss and learn the different important aspects of each state. The book offers the state bird, date of statehood, etc. Student could create a journal or book of each state and their facts throughout the social studies unit. It could also be used to teach a lesson on historical landmarks in the US as well as a beginning unit on research.

[Alexa Hennessey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book to teach children about the United States. It is an easy read and filled with great information. The Author uses circus trains as part of the illustrations. The book is a great start to a child's inquiry into the US. It doesn't throw too much information at them at once but at the same time provides them with a creative way to look at it. Since each page is dedicated to a state, if a child is only interested in learning about one state at a time they have that capability. I would recommend this to any child interested in history or a teacher of young kids, Most likely primary aged children.

[Amanda St · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this Nonfiction picturebook it teaches kids the order in which the states became states. It is written in a fun, interactive way, with a certain rhythem to make the book almost into a song. I would use this for younger level students and we could do many lessons based off of this book. In the back of the book it lists the order the states became ratified and it gives a fun fact about each state. You could assign every student with a certain state and let them research it and present to the class.

[Hailey · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book presents all 50 states as a train car. Each car says when the state became a state, who it was named for, the state flower, animal, tree, and a fun fact about each state.
I love the way this book is set up, it lets students learn about the states in a way that isn't just a history book. The colors make this book very eye appealing too.
I would have this in my room and use it when we were learning the states because I think studetns will remember this book about states better than me just telling them all these things.

[John Hugens · Rating 4 out of 5]

Train of the States by Peter Sis would be a good supplement to a younger middle grades classroom. For a student that is unaware of the states, or a specific basic fact about them, this book is not daunting, and is easily approachable. While it provides little in depth information, it could be a good starter for a more in depth project. The teacher could instruct students to find a state, and one aspect of that state i.e. the state bird, and then research that bird or other state-related object.

[Chanelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book focuses on the fifty states of the US and they are featured on fifty different train cars. Each train gives facts about each state such as when it was adopted, animals that are native to it, and an interesting fact about the state. I like this book, because it would be great for students to use and explore especially if they picked a state to study. The illustrations are awesome and engaging. I like that the content is student friendly.

[Shinji Nishida · Rating 3 out of 5]

We can learn about all states with cute illustrations. This picture book is a good introduction for children who learn about states. I think children don’t have to read all at one time. There are many states in America and the content is repetitive, so children may be getting tired of reading. When they are interested in one states, they should find the state and read.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book because it contains so much information on each page. Each page is dedicated to a different state. It includes state flower,bird, capitol, nickname, founding date, etc. You could practically do a state report from just one page.

[Tanille Bradshaw · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is book that teaches informational facts about each of the fifty states. It is a great book for children learning the states and what is significant for each one. Very helpful and fun to read at the same time.

[Cheryl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Delightful circus wagon list of all 50 states plus Washington DC. Each page features a different circus wagon, with tidbits of information tucked here and there. Visually appealing and fun.

We loved this inviting book so much we bought multiple copies to share!

[Katie Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a great resource for students. It provides many facts over each U.S. state.I like how it goes in order of the year the state was founded instead of alphabetically. Some of the facts are the state's capital,tree,flower,and bird. The book also gives facts inside the illustration.

[Kayla Schum · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about all fifty states and the main facts that people should remember about them. It gives facts such as capital, date of statehood, and an interesting fact that happened there. I would use this book to get my students more aquainted with the states.

[Kelsey Nauert · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a train time line of the states. It gives state facts and little pieces of trivia. The illustrations are entertaining. This would be used in my social studies class, because these are facts students should know.

[Jessica L. · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute informational book about all 50 states. The book includes basic information and a quirky fact about each state. The book is beautifully illustrated as well.

The book could be used in a history class to learn basic information about each state.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Check out this artist. Peter Sis has written and illustrated numerous gorgeous picture books. And...he designed the tile work at the subway stop ot 86th and Lexington in NYC. Check that out, too!

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'll recommend it to my friend who's daughter studied states in her summer camp, but it's not that interesting for a 2 1/2 y/o. I think United Tweets of America looks a little more fun.

[Dee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Various tidbits about the states. I watched a table full of third grade boys pore over it, quizzing each other. Sis's beautiful, intricate illustrations never fail to amuse.

[Whitney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just gorgeous and quite informative (though wordless). I could look at it for hours.

[Rose · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informational book about the 50 states.
Beautiful illustration

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

a positively beautiful book about the United States