National Parks of the USA

July 30, 2018
For travelers and outdoor enthusiasts alike, this attractive volume explores 21 of America’s most iconic national parks, from Maine’s Acadia (“Lace up your hiking boots!”) and Alaska’s Glacier Bay (“Listen for the whoomph of glaciers calving icebergs”) to tropical destinations in Hawaii and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The guide begins with a brief history of nature reserves, including President Grant’s 1872 establishment of Yellowstone, and maps throughout show each region’s park locations (though not all mapped parks are further detailed, which may frustrate readers). Subsequent pages for each region highlight its grandest parks with a full-bleed introduction and a second, factual spread that details area highlights, including common flora (in Denali, the black spruce: “Even a tiny, stunted spruce could be more than 100 years old”), fauna (at Glacier, the wolverine), and habitats. Digital art by Turnham layers visuals—Bryce Canyon’s stone strata, the steam of Yellowstone’s geysers, and the striated skies that soar over them all—as children and adults hike and paddle their way through the illustrations. An afterword discusses the fragility and welfare of the country’s outdoor spaces, and an alphabet seek-and-find invites readers to locate visuals throughout the pages—and, presumably, in the parks themselves. Ages 6–9.

September 1, 2018

Gr 2-6-This oversize picture book atlas of sorts examines U.S. national parks. Striking art deco-style illustrations and stylized fonts create an informative feast for the eyes. Early elementary school readers will love the browsable pages, but even middle schoolers will find some use here, and adults will marvel at the presentation. Familiar parks such as the Everglades, Grand Canyon, and Yosemite are here, but lesser known ones get equal treatment. Each region of the United States, from sea to shining sea, boasts a national park worthy of exploring. Fascinating snippets of information are interspersed-lobsters are ill tempered; wolverines can take down animals as big as elk. VERDICT Pair, use, or display with a more detailed guide book of the parks for a thorough, stunning look at our nation's natural treasures.-Sharon Verbeten, Brown County Library, Green Bay, WI

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

June 15, 2018
A panoramic sampler of our park system's flora, fauna, and other natural wonders.Siber and Turnham map all 60 parks but highlight 21 of the more popular ones. For each of the latter, a general introduction is paired with a big landscape (or underwater) view on one spread, and the next follows up with a small location map plus images of 10 or so distinctive plants, animals, and geological features with brief descriptive comments. The entries are arranged in geographical groups going, roughly, east to west but in no logical itinerary. Created digitally in a serigraphic style, the art has a retro, travel-poster look that complements the breezy narrative's message that these are places worth visiting: "Just about everything in the 49th state is bigger and gnarlier than in the Lower 48." Family groups hiking, swimming, or marveling at vistas in most of the larger pictures are (for a change) more often dark-skinned than light. Though the art's palette runs to muted greens, blues, and oranges, figures stand out sharply--in contrast to the smaller blocks of text, which are printed in a skinny-skinny type that can be hard to see when placed over dark or multihued backgrounds. Still, readers fond of outdoorsy activities will respond to this inviting array of sites, scenery, and wildlife in natural settings.An eyeful for active or armchair vacationers, though more a general overview than a guidebook. (index) (Nonfiction. 7-10)

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Starred review from September 15, 2018
Grades 3-5 *Starred Review* This lovely, oversize introduction to America's national parks invites readers into more than 20 scenic vistas, where four-page sections illustrate each unique environment and its native plants and animals. The first two pages offer paragraphs that sum up the park's scenery, history, and the special features that caused it to be designated a protected area. The second two pages feature small, distinct, detailed illustrations with brief captions of wildlife and foliage, while fact boxes provide basic park data?location, size, and date established. Information boxes add additional facts, such as unusual weather patterns, and simple maps show general locations. Popular tourist destinations, like Yosemite and the Everglades, are covered, as are attractions that may not be as familiar to national audiences: Acadia in Maine, Isle Royale in Michigan, or Olympic in Washington State. The muted color palette is reminiscent of vintage travel posters, and the pages evoke enticing travel brochures, as they extol the wonderful activities available for families (and portray diverse groups of visitors enjoying themselves). There's not a lot of current material on this subject aimed at young readers, and few publications could compete with this attractive packaging. An engaging picture book, this is also ideal for introductory inquiry research.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)