O, Say Can You See? America's Symbols, Landmarks, and Important Words

by Sheila Keenan

This picture book celebrates and explains America's symbols, landmarks, and important words in lively, brief text and bright, humorous illustrations. There are stars-and-stripes T-shirts. There are Statue of Liberty pencil sharpeners and Uncle Sam Halloween costumes. Patriotic symbols are everywhere...but where do they come from? What do they mean?Now in paperback, this celebration of twenty of America's important places, interesting objects, and inspiring words is for the youngest Americans. Including Plymouth Rock, the White House, the flag, the bald eagle, and many more, this book draws kids in with its big, two-page spreads and fun, bright pastels and satisfies their curiosities about America's most prominent symbols.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, History, Nonfiction, American, American History

64 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Sheila Keenan is an established author of fiction and nonfiction for young people. Her books include the Eisner-nominated graphic novel Dogs of War, the picture book As the Crow Flies, I Spy The Illuminati Eye, and O, Say Can You See? America’s Symbols, Landmarks and Inspiring Words, among other selected titles. She lives in New York City.

Reviews

[A.M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is very well written. If you are looking for a book to teach young children about out nation's symbols of freedom, this is the book to get!
I truly enjoyed how it gives interesting facts about each symbol and explains the history behind them. The illustrations are beautiful and vibrant. Kids will love them!
We have such a rich and powerful heritage and children need to be taught about it!

[Elizabeth Mayberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is another informational book about America's symbols and landmarks. Very informational and engaging. This is best for elementary ages and up although my girls liked looking through the pictures and asking me about what they saw. This book shares information on so many American historical things like Uncle Sam, the Statue of Liberty, the American Flag, Ellis Island, the Liberty Bell, Bill of Rights, National Anthem, Washington monument, etc. I'm glad we own this book - we will be pulling it out for history projects and research in the future!

[Desi A · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book from the school library. It was full of lots of interesting facts and anecdotes about our national symbols, and not a completely whitewashed version either, so I appreciated that. Given the state of things in this world right now, I might have teared up at times while reading it.

[Dawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book because I had started a 2020 reading challenge. One of the books I was challenged to read was a book about symbols. Even though I am way above the targeted age level, I learn a lot and enjoyed this book!

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book to show kids for social studies. Tells the history of landmarks, documents, and songs. Really enjoyed this book.

[Natalie · Rating 4 out of 5]

True to its title, this books provides facts and history of many of America's symbols, landmarks, and important words. It's a fantastic read with many interesting facts.

[Tam · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was very informative for my 8-year-old and it's written at a level that he understands which makes it fun to learn about America's symbols and landmarks.

It's been a long time since I've been in school so I hate to admit it but I learned things too.

The things it focused on are: Plymouth Rock, Independence Hall, living in the White House, Capitol Building, Supreme Court Building, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, Mount Rushmore, the Flag, the Liberty Bell, Uncle Sam, why the national bird is the bald eagle, the Great Seal of the U.S., Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, our National Anthem, the Pledge of Allegiance, and some of the national holidays we celebrate.

Here's an example:
"The Pilgrims didn't actually land on Plymouth Rock in 1620. Good thing! If they had, the 10-ton boulder would have ripped a hole in the Mayflower! The Pilgrims rowed to shore and settled nearby in what is now Plymouth, MA. But what about that rock?"

[Teri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved reading this book with my students. They were eagerly engaged in the book, plus it is a great history into a bunch of important landmarks around our country. Even though I have been to many of the places in the book, I still learned a lot about the various symbols. Great illustrations, great book.

[Caitlin Barclay]

This book explains to students at a student level the meaning and different types of symbols we have in America. Written like a mini-encyclopedia, excerpts can be taken from this book for many lessons, and some students will check it out afterwards!

[Becca Holcomb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun story for young readers. This is great social studies book. You could use this to introduce the important landmakrs and symbols of the United States. The pictures provide really good visuals for the students.

[Alyce Dougan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a gives a great description of all the American symbols. I used this book to teach my students about the Star Spangles Banner. It offers information about the the flag, statue of liberty, the pledge of allegiance and ect. I would recommend it to be in every classroom.

[Sylvia · Rating 5 out of 5]

It has every thing you should know for social studies!!!

[Ruth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Simply and well written informative text that will stimulate a young reader to seek more information.

[Madison Heusel]

Summary:
This book examies the symbols, landmarks, and inspiring words of this country. Divided into it's own sections, the book anaylzes through different time periods different reoccuring or important symbols that are necessary to understanding America better. It gives lots of background and surrounding information about the topics that are discussed. Next, landmarks are shown in the pictures and talked about. It gives lots of facts about buildings like the White House and the Capitol building. Lastly, inspiring words are shown by important founders and contributors to America's rich history.

My Thoughts:
I really enjoyed this book because it is a fun picture book that can be used in higher level classes. There is a lot to learn from in this book, so reading it to a class of middle schoolers even wouldn't be out of the question. The pictures accompany the text well without overpowering or detracting from the amount of information presented. I genuniely learned some new things by reading this book. I liked how the information was presented.

Classroom Usage:
I would use this around President's day since I couldn't use it surrounding the fourth of July. I think it's rich in American history, so I would read it to the class around this topic and have a class discussion about what was presented. From there, I would break them into groups and have them research further one of the ideas, symbols, inspiring quotes, or landmarks that were referenced in this book.