I hope you will enjoy this great book review for Elysabeth Eldering’s great book. I just love geography, myself. This is a good book for my grandson or if you have kids or are a teacher.

BOOK REVIEW

STORIES FOR CHILDREN MAGAZINE

BOOK: State of Wilderness

AUTHOR: Elysabeth Eldering

ILLUSTRATOR: Aidana WillowRaven

PUBLISHER: 4RV Publishing LLC (2008)

ISBN-13: 978-0-9797513-5-6

ISBN-10: 0-9797513-5-7

READING LEVEL: Grades 5-6

RATING: 5 stars

REVIEWED BY: Wayne Walker

Geography was one of my favorite subjects in school. Even at home as a child, on a rainy day I could spend hours of delight with an atlas or a set of encyclopedias in which I could read about different places. I still enjoy learning about various countries, states, and other localities on earth. The study of geography can be dreary and boring when reduced to rote memorization of nations, capitals, and such information. However, it can also be fun, as this first book in the “Junior Geography Detective Squad 50 States Mystery Trivia Series” shows. This novel presentation of geographical facts about the United States is a fascinating way to reinforce geographical awareness, something that studies show is sorely lacking in our children’s education.

Matt Patterson is almost thirteen and likes to hang out with his friend Guy Lombard. They enjoy not only skateboarding and video games but also geography. Matt’s eleven year old sister Mary Beth also joins Matt and Guy. Matt’s mother has given him a new hand-held geography game that has both a screen and a voice. It gives a set of clues, going from obscure to more well-known, about one of the fifty states. As Matt, Guy, and Mary Beth ponder the clues and try to guess the state, the reader moves along with them and can try his own hand at determining which state is being described. As the “Junior Geography Detective Squad” passes through the fifty states of the series, there are also “bonus clues” about one of the five territories which are part of the United States.

People like me who enjoy geography and trivia buffs in general will really like this book. However, it should especially appeal to middle school aged students whose lives revolve around video games. Take a break from the computer or pod for a few minutes and read a book that will be both fun and educational. It is well written and the drawings by Aidana WillowRaven help the reader visualize what the “Junior Geography Detective Squad” is seeing. When I received my copy and began to look over it, I found it so interesting that I finished it in one sitting. I guessed the state by Clue #4, but if you cannot guess it by Clue #25, you need to brush up on your U. S. geography! And if you want to know what those clues are, you will need to get the book. I look forward to further volumes in the series.

Related website: http://4rvpublishingllc.com

http://jgdsseries.blogspot.com —

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