THERE ONCE WAS A MAN FROM THE USA
50 State Limericks
By: Joshua Kraushar
Illustrated By: Victoria Weiss
Children’s Non-Fiction
This book includes a collection of limericks about each of the fifty states. Dictionary.com states a limerick as
“a kind of humorous verse of five lines, in which the first, second, and fifth lines rhyme with each other, andthe third and fourth lines, which are shorter, form a rhymed couplet.”
Some of the limericks directly relate to the state mentioned and others connect to each other. In reading, I found a number of them are kind of violent such as “finishing him off with a hammer” or “mauled by a dog”. Others were more appropriate for the state such as Maryland’s:
There once was a singer from Maryland
Who was part of a famous rock band
He loved to go crabbing
Till his foot took a stabbing
From a crustacean he stepped on in the sand. Page 28
While I appreciate the creativity and effort it must have taken to come up with a suitable limerick for each state, I would have to disagree that this should be considered a children’s book or educational in any way. When I initially read about the book and agreed to review it, I planned to pass it on to my 4th Grade teacher friend. I know in 4th grade the kids learn about all the fifty states and I thought she might find this fun to read to them. After reading, I will not be passing it on to her as several of the limericks are not appropriate for that grade level or for children at all.
I am sure Mr. Kraushar, in his years of teaching high school Social Studies found much humor in writing this book, but perhaps he should share it with the high school students rather than the elementary ones.
This book was a disappointment and one I wouldn’t recommend.
Joshua Kraushar is a retired high school Social Studies teacher. This book is his first attempt at writing a children’s/young adult book. He is currently living in Brooklyn, New York and is working as a tour guide.
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What a cute book! I bet my granddaughter would love it!