Due to a sudden, unexpected passing in the family a few years ago and another more recently and my subsequent (mental) health issues stemming from that, I was unable to download this book in time to review it before it was archived as I did not visit this site for several years after the bereavements. This meant I didn't read or venture onto netgalley for years as not only did it remind me of that person as they shared my passion for reading, but I also struggled to maintain interest in anything due to overwhelming depression. I was therefore unable to download this title in time and so I couldn't give a review as it wasn't successfully acquired before it was archived. The second issue that has happened with some of my other books is that I had them downloaded to one particular device and said device is now defunct, so I have no access to those books anymore, sadly.

This means I can't leave an accurate reflection of my feelings towards the book as I am unable to read it now and so I am leaving a message of explanation instead. I am now back to reading and reviewing full time as once considerable time had passed I have found that books have been helping me significantly in terms of my mindset and mental health - this was after having no interest in anything for quite a number of years after the passings. Anything requested and approved will be read and a review written and posted to Amazon (where I am a Hall of Famer & Top Reviewer), Goodreads (where I have several thousand friends and the same amount who follow my reviews) and Waterstones (or Barnes & Noble if the publisher is American based). Thank you for the opportunity and apologies for the inconvenience.

Amazing book with amazing people. Really enjoy reading these books and learning about people who have had a real impact on our lives today. It is also a bonus that this book is very beautiful too.

I thought this was such an interesting book. I love the artwork and each of the trailblazers from all 50 states. Some people we know and others some might not know.

This book will take you on an alphabetical (by state) journey across the U.S.A. Each states features a pioneering historical figure (mostly advocates for social and scientific causes). Each person gets a two-page spread which is jam packed with illustrations and facts.

A great book to introduce young readers to the 50 trailblazers included in the book's pages.

Definitely informative and educational. This book was not exactly what I was expecting but a good read for my children nonetheless. I would agree that this would be a good book for every library.

I won't be seeing this on school library shelves here in the UK, that's for sure. This book alphabetically goes through all fifty States and gives each one a pioneering, protesting or otherwise laudable spirit, whether from the world of race relations, sport, or (most reluctantly, it seems), environmental protection. These game-changers get a few paragraphs each, splattered around a double-page spread of this large format book, with several quotes from each one where relevant, and illustrations about their world and work. This all makes for a very busy page, and I think something tidier could have been a little better. My approach to the design was not helped by reading this digitally, mind, where I had to scroll left and right and up and down and all over the blinking place – one firm book in front of my eyes would still have been busy, but would have been much easier to parse. That said, there is a horrid cursive font used on the databank for each character. I think the biggest sin, however, is the lack of detail this basic read gave – you're not really made to feel like protecting Alaskan wildlife when there's hardly a mention of what it is; knee-bending footballers protesting against racism seem very woolly, in this approach, as it's never defined what racism they're finding to protest against.

That said, each entry concludes with a sort of 'what has happened since/is happening now' section, so there is some sense of ownership of each issue. The right reader then will be able to take the topic away and see how they can join in, but this book only primes its audience to go further, and leaves extra reading as a first step needed in almost every instance. It's not a dreadful book, don't get me wrong (although horridly biased lines about America being a country that needs fixing tended to sway me the other way), but I felt it could have been better. It boils down to an annotated and very unofficial List of 50 State Heroes, with all the list-based journalism-lite that suggests.

Clearly I am in the minority here, but I did NOT like this book. I was interested in a book about trailblazers, hoping I could introduce some new and exciting history makers to my son. What I did not want was a political propaganda book that I had to end up having to explain why we don't believe certain viewpoints. I did not allow my son to finish the book, but I did.

This book is said to be for an age group between 6-9. I personally disagree. My son is in first grade, but he reads on a third grade level. He had a hard time following the layout of this book. You have some text about the "trailblazer" mixed with photos and then randomly placed quotes. And lastly a small quick synopsis of dates born/died and why they are a trailblazer. The format is absolutely horrible and makes no sense to a young reader. For a children's book this is a huge issue for me. When my son who reads two grade levels higher than his age has a hard time following this book then I feel it has been targeted to the wrong age group or is just simply a poorly executed book.

My next big issue with this book is the political propaganda. I understand that when we talk about trailblazers, there will be many in the political arena over the years in American history. And even some in very recent years. Case in point is President Barack Obama. Do I personally agree with his politics? No. Do I think he is a trailblazer and someone who deserves the respect of being one? Absolutely!!!! He was this country's first African American president. Hands down that is a trailblazer. I use this example for two reasons. 1 - there are a lot of trailblazers in politics and 2 - I don't have to agree with someone's political viewpoint to agree on whether or not they have made a serious impact on history. President Obama made an impact on history in more ways than one. And to put him in the same category as a trailblazer with Colin Kaepernick (California) and Emma Gonzalez (Florida) I think is an insult to President Obama. The trailblazers either had a political purpose or were sports figures. Well, if you read the authors bio I guess that makes sense. He writes political and sports articles. But trailblazers are more than just those two items. This book is very short sighted in that aspect.

Did I actually learn anything from this book? Yes I did. There were a small handful that were well picked and people I did not who they were or their accomplishments. But those were few and far between. Leaving me overall very disappointed in this book and not one I would recommend to any parent to read with their child or teacher to use in the classroom.

My thanks to the Howard Megdal, Quarto Publishing Group - Wide Eyed Editions and Netgalley for a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Love the mix of higher profile Americans with some that history classes might not have covered. The art makes the book feel almost like an easy book and the short & broken up pieces of text makes the material covered less intimidating. Would definitely recommend this book for anyone wanting to increase their Biography section a way that wouldn't overwhelm their shelves.

This book covers 50 people who changed the course of the United States and in some cases, the world. Each spread is a gorgeous infographic-like page giving a wonderful tribute to each person. Children and adults alike will learn a lot about notable and brave figures in history with this book.

This was a wonderful book filled with interesting people from across the fifty states. Each page had lots of different information, maybe a bit much information. I really liked the colours and all the fun facts about people I'd never heard of!

Thanks to netgalley and the publishers for providing me a copy!

I loved 50 Trailblazers of the 50 States! This book was packed full of information about a variety of inspirational people. I will definitely use this in my classroom - I like the tie in with geography and that kids can relate to these trailblazers based on something as simple as which state they are from. Books like this are a great starting point for those wanting to learn more about people who have shaped our history/culture. Loved it!

This book was so much fun! It was so interesting to learn more about some of my favorite celebrities, but also be introduced to people I didn't know anything about. I thought that it was so cool that they included Emma Gonzalez, who I think is such an inspiration. I also loved that Colin Kaepernick was included because so many people want to paint him in a bad light, but I think he is one of the bravest people in the world.

Thank you so much for allowing me to read this title!

50 Trailblazers of the 50 States is amazing! I read it to the 4 year olds I babysit and they really enjoyed it. It's not the typical storybooks that they usually hear, but they loved it. The boys spent the rest of the week talking about the different people they read about. I highly recommend this book!

This book is a fantastic resource for both home and school libraries. It is geared toward elementary school children but, as an adult, I also found it to be highly informative and interesting. As would be expected 50 trailblazers are featured in the book. Some of them were well known to me, as for example, Joe Biden or Rosa Parks while many others were new to me. Just a couple of the new names to me included Margaret Murie and the All American Red Heads. Some of the people featured are quite contemporary, as for example, Colin Kapernick. Each person has a two page spread that is dense with information. There are sections on what the trailblazer did, where they were from, how their work continues and more. There are also quotes. I enjoyed this one from Rebecca Lobo:

and my daughter walked in the room and looked at the TV and said to Steve, 'Are those boys playing?' And I said, 'Yes." And my daughter said, "I didn't know boys played basketball."

I give this book a full five stars. It will inspire and inform the children in your life. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this title in exchange for an honest review.

50 Trailblazers of the 50 States is written by Howard Megdal and illustrated by Abbey Lossing. It is a well-written children’s historical biography book. Going alphabetically by US state, it introduces its readers to one trailblazer from each state. The two page spread on each person includes a timeline, key achievements, and how their trailblazing continues today.

This book has vivid illustrations and the amount of text is appropriate for 6-9 year old children. However, they may need some help in understanding some of the terms. It has lots of interesting facts from people of a variety of ethnicities and economic backgrounds. Their achievements span the spectrum from work on mental illness advocacy, workers’ rights, women’s rights, marriage equality, voting rights, civil rights, anti-gun violence, to environmentalism and much more. The one thing that did bother me is that the text is quite small and the background and/or font colors can make it more difficult to read.

Overall, the book is inspiring and should be enjoyable to children and parents alike. Additionally, it has an index, glossary, and a further reading section at the end that is helpful.

Many thanks to Quarto Publishing Group – Wide Eyed Editions and Howard Megdal for a digital ARC of this novel via Net Galley and the opportunity to provide an honest review. Opinions are mine alone and are not biased in any way.

An incredible book filled with inspirational people from across the 50 states. The page layouts were crammed with Information, quotes and illustrations of each person. It was bright and bold and really well put together. Some of these people I know and love. Others I’ve never heard about but it was really interesting to hear their story.

I love motivational and inspiring books. This is one of the best I’ve seen. It was fun to read.

50 Trailblazers of the 50 states is another amazing read from QPG. I learned ALOT from this book and I love how it tied in geography and people who made a positive difference in our world. Since a trailblazer was needed for every state, I found that this had a list of people who normally wouldn't be on it. Who knew it was a woman (Margaret Murie) who is responsible for the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge in Alaska, or that Norris Henderson is responsible for Prisoners' Rights (phone companies were illegally charging inmates more money than required to make phone calls - he worked on other issues as well) or the All-American Redheads were a group of pioneering women who made it possible for female basketball players to be paid.

This book is full to the brim with amazing and interesting facts about everyone who has or is working to make our world better. Another positive is that it was represented by all different ethnicity's and backgrounds. I especially enjoyed the forward that explains that all the rights we enjoy today didn't just happen, there was a person or group of people behind that change, which could have taken years to accomplish. (Progress doesn't move as quickly as we would like it to, but it doesn't happen.)

My only slight criticism is that even though I agree with the political views of the author, I felt they were quite "in your face" and could turn others off. I am sure some choices were more difficult than others (I'm looking at you Deleware), but in trying to be thinking about this objectively, there are some entries that could have used a little more editing away from the political conversation (although, in arguing against my own point, it's hard NOT to mix politics and trailblazers). Hopefully, my point is understood.

Thank you to Netgalley, Quarto Publishing Group - Wide Eyed Editions and Howard Megdal for the opportunity to read and provide an honest review of this book.

Review Date: 10/21/19
Publication Date: 11/5/19

This is an interesting collection of civil rights and environmental rights men and women in US history. Fifty people, from each of the 50 states. Some were born in those states, some went there, or were active there. These people run the gamut from the 1700s to 2018.

Some are quite well known, such as Barack Obama. Others, I was less familiar with, such as Susette La Flesche.

<img src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/50-trailbalzers6.png" alt="" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5467" />

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A quick overview of 50 people who have contributed to the rights of all oppressed people and animals.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

"You must never be fearful about what you are doing when it is right." - Rosa Parks

I was very happy to receive this ARC from Quarto Publishing Group - Wide Eyed Editions. I initially requested this book because of the inspiring factor I was sure would transpire, and it did not disappoint. This was a very enlightening book to read. It introduced me to some new faces but still included some favourites of mine. The geographical aspect was very fun, educational and original and I really appreciated it. The art style fit the book perfectly! As a non-American I still enjoyed the contents of the book and was educated about People that helped shape the country's history.

I would definitely recommend this book to my American friends, but it was still an interesting read for a non-American.

Interesting read for kids. Some not so well known people and their actions are highlighted among the better known people. Would buy to read with the kids.