Fun and Simple Southeastern State Crafts

November 1, 2008
Gr 2-4-Each of these books begins with a brief introduction that includes a few salient but rather random facts, followed by a map with the states under discussion clearly outlined. Each state is then covered in a two-page listing of such things as its capital, nickname, official bird, fish, flower, etc. All of this information is available in greater detail in books devoted to the states. Two crafts that loosely relate to the history or culture of each state follow. Students can make a Paul Bunyan statue to coincide with the study of Maine, a Stovepipe Hat Penny Bank for Tennessee, etc. While the directions for each project are clear, how they relate to the state is not. The piece on Paul Bunyan explains that Bangor claims to be his birthplace, but leaves readers in the dark as to who the man was or his importance. Abe Lincolns connection to Tennessee, other than the presence of a museum honoring him there, is also unexplained. The crafts rely repeatedly on modeling clay or papier mâché, and the finished products are unremarkable.

Copyright 2008 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 15, 2008
Grades 2-4 After a quick intro defining southeastern as West Virginia, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, Ponte provides two pages of fun facts (origin of name, capital, state flag, etc.) and two different projects related to something unique to each state. Among the projectsare a West Virginia Coal House made from a cardboard box; a clay raven in honor of Virginias Edgar Allan Poe; anda pirate flag in the style of South Carolinas Blackbeard. Although the instructions are a bit light onassembly details (the main advice on making a Statue of Liberty out of tinfoil boils down to Form the shape of the Statue of Liberty), the projects provide a number of good jumping-off points for those wishing to put their own twists ontheir work.This entry in the Fun and Simple State Crafts series may bejust the thing for the student hoping to jazz up a school project.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2008, American Library Association.)