All summer, I’ll be sharing books for kids of all ages on topics that will interest them or offer them something new to learn about. Most of the time, these will be nonfiction books, but sometimes we can learn from fictional stories too.
I hope you will stay tuned to these posts. They will always have Summer Read-to-Learn in the title and the tags. There will be books from some of my favorite publishers like Feeding Minds Press, Chronicle Kids, Twirl, Templar Books, Candlewick Press, and others as well as books on all kinds of topics kids love to read and learn about. Be sure to stop by each week to see what book I’m sharing as part of my Summer Read-to-Learn series.
To see all the books in the Summer Read-to-Learn series, click HERE.
ALL ABOUT U.S.
A Look at the Lives of 50 Real Kids from Across the United States
By: Matt Lamothe and Jenny Volvoski
Published: August 6, 2024
Publisher: Chronicle Kids
Non-Fiction/Biography
Peak into the daily lives of 50 kids from every state in the US while reading this book. Kids love learning about other kids doing great things and finding kids that are like them. Matt Lamothe and Jenny Volvovski document the lives of 50 great kids in this companion to the book THIS IS HOW WE DO IT. You’ll see a diverse group of kids including various cultures and abilities represented on the pages. Your child will no doubt find someone to identify with.
The goal of the authors was to create an authentic group of kids representing the whole United States. They took great care to match the chosen kids with the US Census Bureau factors of race, ethnicity, gender, family structure, income, religion, schools, and housing demographics. They hope that some of your misconceptions about particular states or kids from various regions will be dispelled by reading this with your kids.
In each of the interviews, the authors asked the same questions ending with “In what ways are you a typical American family?”. What they found was that every family needed to feel loved and that they belonged to something.
I expected when I turned to the page on the child from Iowa, it would be a farm kid raising pigs. But, I was shocked to see that they featured 9-year-old Amelia. Amelia’s parents are divorced and her dad is a flight instructor. On the weekends, while staying with her dad, Amelia helps him build an airplane and also flies with him. Their longest flight has been to Florida. Amelia, who wants to be a pilot someday, was named after Amelia Earhart.
Hannah, age 11, from Maine, wants to be a king crab fisherwoman. Her family lives near the water and spends a lot of time on the water. She will often leave before sunrise to the open ocean with her dad to fish for halibut, tuna, and sharks or help him pull up the lobster traps. She also loves to hike with her mom and siblings collecting sea glass along the shore.
I really enjoyed reading about each of these amazing kids. From Destiny in Connecticut who helps care for her mom with rheumatoid arthritis to Ameen who likes to create things on his 3D printer as well as take cooking classes these kids will remind you that the next generation will do great things.
The end of the book includes photographs of each of the kids as well as some photos of where they live. The author also shares the process for selecting and then interviewing the kids. The data from from interviews is also shared in fun graphs that kids will find interesting.
Overall, this is a phenomenal book that should be in every library and school. I’m so glad I have two copies to share with our elementary and town libraries.
Matt Lamothe is an illustrator and animator. He is part of ALSO, a small design company he started with friends from the Rhode Island School of Design. When he’s not on the computer, he finds comfort in pastries, coffee, and basic carpentry. He lives and works in Washington. Check out his website, HERE.
Jenny Volvovski is a designer and kid’s book author. She is part of ALSO, a small design company she started with friends from the Rhode Island School of Design. When Jenny’s not on the computer, she likes to hike around Mt. Adams and the Columbia River Gorge and take photos of wildflowers. She lives and works in Washington.
To purchase a copy of ALL ABOUT U.S., click HERE.
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Thanks to the publisher for sending a copy of this book for the purpose of this review. This review is my honest opinion. If you choose to make a purchase through the above links, I may receive a small commission without you having to pay a cent more for your purchase.
Check out my review policy, HERE.
Posted Under biography, Book Review, Children's books, Jenny Volvovski, Matt Lamothe, non-fiction, Summer Read-to-Learn, United States