Greetings From The 50 States: How They Got Their Names
Keenan lines up the states in alphabetical order; tacks Washington, D.C., onto the end; and presents breezy anecdotal accounts of how each earned its name and motto. Common themes quickly emerge—notably the number of variant spellings early on (31 for Alabama, 70 for Arkansas), and the many names that are either of obscure origin (Arizona, Kentucky, Oregon) or, like Idaho, invented words. Along with colorful labels in a variety of lettering styles, Alko decorates her fanciful portraits of each state with large images of iconic physical features, natural resources, famous people, and historic incidents. Like Laurie Keller’s Scrambled States of America (1998) or Peter Sís’ Train of States (2004), this is not particularly useful for assignments, but should make for welcome and popular enrichment reading. Grades 4-6. --John Peters