Only in America

The Weird and Wonderful 50 States

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Pub Date Nov 09 2021 | Archive Date Nov 24 2021

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Description

A state-by-state compendium of weird laws, quirks, one-offs, and unusual records only to be found in the wonderfully wacky US of A.

Only in America explores the strangest claims to fame and the most unusual place names every state has to offer. Visit the city of Dinosaur, drop by the Pizza Museum, find out where it is illegal to feed a pig without a permit, and check out the world’s only “carhenge” (that’s right, Stonehenge reconstructed using cars). Among many other marvels, discover:
 
  • The longest gum wrapper chain (over 20 miles!)
  • Which state has the highest ratio of cows to humans in the country
  • The origin of shoo-fly pie, a molasses cake baked in a pie crust
  • The world’s largest (fake) bug, a 58-foot blue termite
  • Where “dinner” means lunch and “supper” means dinner

Illustrated by the brilliant Alan Berry-Rhys in a bold graphic art style that evokes vintage Americana, the book is arranged state by state, giving key facts about each and presenting an alternative and hilarious look at quirky phenomena that are truly only in America.

The 50 States series of books for young explorers celebrates the USA and the wider world with key facts and fun activities about the people, history, and natural environments that make each location within them uniquely wonderful. Beautiful illustrations, maps, and infographics bring the places to colorful life.

Also available from the series:50 Trailblazers of the 50 States, Only in America Activity Book, Only in California, Only in Texas, We Are the United States, 50 Adventures in the 50 States, 50 Maps of the World, 50 Maps of the World Activity Book, and The 50 States.
A state-by-state compendium of weird laws, quirks, one-offs, and unusual records only to be found in the wonderfully wacky US of A.

Only in America explores the strangest claims to fame and the most...

Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9780711262843
PRICE $30.00 (USD)
PAGES 112

Available on NetGalley

NetGalley Shelf App (PDF)

Average rating from 30 members


Featured Reviews

Omg..this book is so fascinating and wonderful. I have two young kids and both in recent years have studied the US as part of their social studies classes, I WISH I had this book. I learned something new on the first page--that the Presidentof the United States and his family have their own secret zip code in order to get personal mail delivered. It's so colorful and has so many interesting facts about the country, our society as well as individual states. I'll be referencing this for a long time to come! Highly recommend, especially as a gift book.

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I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. Kids will really enjoy this book as they can start with looking at the state they live in and then states that other family members live in. Very informative and interesting.

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Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an eARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

This book was right up my alley. I enjoyed every second of it.

I’m from one of those families that would make you do trivia/brain teasers on long car rides, so this spoke to the joy I always got from that (and apparently still get). This is like an expansion of one of my favorite childhood possessions: a book of facts about my home state (I still own it too).

Each state has its own spread of really fun, quirky, and interesting facts/laws that blew my mind. I learned so much cool information that was really complemented by the bright and fun art style.

I can’t wait to own a physical copy so I can share this joy with my future little ones.

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A really nice reference book for children interested in exploring the US and the distinct aspects of each state. I can imagine my grandson reading this and calling out facts and questions to his parents who'd be answering, "Really? I never knew that!" So, it could engage the whole family.
The book is colorful with a distinct color pallet and after awhile I was wishing that it could have had actual photos as well. I did love that it gave book titles for the states and upon reading the state pages for places I've lived I found it a satisfying mix of both old and new-to-me information. This would certainly be a good holiday gift.

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Each state gets a brightly illustrated, detailed two-page spread of both "informative" facts like the capital, major historical places/events, etc. and "fun" facts like ridiculous place names and silly laws. This is very enjoyable, interesting reading that will be accessible and appealing to students. It would be great to try with reluctant readers as the text is broken into short chunks and the subject matter is entertaining.

I would definitely recommend this for middle grade school and classroom libraries!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

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I homeschool my children, and this was such a fun addition to our USA curriculum. It was full of facts that I'd never heard before, and my children loved learning new things about places they've been or would like to visit. We definitely learned of some things/places we'd like to check out.

The illustrations were cute. The only thing that I had a problem with was the different font colors on the colored background. Sometimes I was a bit hard for me to read, but not a huge deal.

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This book is absolutely bonkers! But I lapped it up!
The book is beautifully laid out, and there is so much information.

This book would make such a great gift for a young person, and could imagine my younger self receiving this book in christmas day, and then devouring it all in one sitting after dinner.
It has such an uplifting, positive vibe about it - even though the facts are a little strange.

Absolutely fascinating, and I think young people would adore this - possible christmas pressie, me thinks!

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I received an advance copy of, Only in America!, by Heather Alexander. I loved this book, it had great facts and information on all the states. Some I have never heard of before, like, state favorites, ice cream, fruits etc. An facts about strange or different people or animals in that state, like in Alabama leaving a banana peel on the grave of a squirrel monkey.

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When I was in the fifth grade, as a reward for going to the dentist, my mom bought me a book that I wanted; it was about the United States. I can still picture this Golden Book’s cover. Only in America would have been so loved by me then. It can be enjoyed by kids now.

Within these pages are fun things to learn about the U.S. So much is included in this title that has great graphics. Learn about state nicknames, fast facts which includes things like funny place names and state slang, numerical facts, information about animals, sports and so much more. For example, who knew that Scottsboro, Alabama is the lost luggage capital of the world or that the favorite dessert of Oklahomans is fried pie? Read on your own state and discover old favorite facts and ones that you may not have known. I was from Rhode Island. I knew about quahogs and cabinets but not about a vampire legend. Open this book anywhere and enjoy what is on display. It is such fun!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.
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This book is gorgeous! Great facts and adequate information about each state which I think any young geographers will love. I would definitely buy a copy for my classroom.

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Review to come November 5th on blog/goodreads.

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.

My second book in which we travel through America. I earlier read a book about road trips through the US and all the weird things you can find. So of course, when I saw another fun US book I had to get it!

This was a pretty fun book in which we learn about the 50 states of the US and all that happened and happens there.From facts about weird town names (I had such a big laugh on many of the names and wondered how any of those were official) to weird laws that had me scratching my head to inventions and who made them, to food and drinks which made me very hungry (or not so as some combos just doesn't sound like something my stomach wants) to special people who did something awesome or weird, special buildings, and more. There is a lot of information packed into this book and I loved finding out more about America. There was a lot I didn't know. So I learned a whole lot and that makes me very happy. I am not sure if I remember everything if someone asks me, but it is tucked somewhere in my head. XD

There are also plenty of illustrations and fun art to make the book stand out and make reading more fun. I loved how colourful the book was as well. It really pops!~

My only complaint would be that it does get a tad boring, it would have been fun to mix things up a bit. Not the same format for all 50 states. Also, I get that this is a book for the US, but seriously, put some cm and metres and such next to the inches and whatevers. Because seriously, I have no clue how high/far/big/small something is if you tell me it is 30 inches or 2 miles. And no, I am not going to keep on Googling. That is fun once, but not all the book.

But all in all, I had fun reading this one and I am happy I got the chance. I would also recommend it, yes it was a bit samey, but I still had fun reading it and I loved all the facts from normal to weird.

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I love this book! It’s not always easy to get kids into books. This book is just the kind to get them hooked, yet also get them excited to learn about the continental US. It’s jam-packed with quirky info (enough for kids to want to reread it multiple times) and fun illustrations. There’s an easy to follow organization which includes text features like a table of contents, an index, and even a “map” for how to read each page. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy - I cannot wait to get a copy for my classroom and my own children.

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The United States is a unique country and that's something I only came to appreciate in my young adulthood when I moved abroad. Firstly, it's absolutely massive in land size and has almost every ecosystem from flatlands to forests to desert to tropical to tundra. Secondly, it's incredibly culturally diverse. This book gives one page to each state filled with illustrations and facts about the state, from "serious" facts like the state flag and nickname to "fun" facts like slang and foods.

Thank you to netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

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What a fun way to take a quick tour of the United States. This book is designed in such a way that it makes the reader want to read all of the little bits of information about each state. It can easily be read as a complete book or used as a reference book to get information about a specific state.

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I really enjoyed the facts about the states in this book. A lot of fun did you know type of things or useless trivia that can be added to conversation.

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Love love love!! My eleven year old loves books filled with facts and he really enjoyed this one! I will definitely be purchasing a hard copy of this one.

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We keep a children's atlas in the car for our kids to pore over whenever we travel, and I think Only in America would be an excellent companion. They love learning (and sharing) fun, random facts! My favorite feature is the book recommendations for each state -- I can't wait to start requesting books from the library. We are also excited to add new trip ideas to our family adventure list.

Fun fact: our small town is mentioned on the Iowa spread!

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Thank you to NetGalley, Heather Alexander and Quarto Publishing Group for the book Only in America. This is my personal review.
I had such a fun time reading this book! I learned so many facts and lots of great trivia.
It was a great trip across America learning things about the many states I have lived in and traveled in. I found so many things that I will share with friends and family. I liked the weird names of towns and the odd laws in some states.
This is a book that will make a great holiday gift.

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What a fun read!! I would’ve LOVED a copy of this as a kid, and read it over and over again, The facts are zany and funny, the graphics are eye-catching and interesting, and I also enjoyed how, while this book shows how different all the states are, the consistency of weird town names was something we all can’t get away from. I think I will have to buy a copy for my nephews. They will love it.

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