National Monuments of the USA (Americana, 4)

This book on National Monuments is excellent! My 12 year old devoured it and kept sharing the facts he learned as he was reading. I was impressed by the creative writing that draws you in to each description and inspires you to visit each monument in person. I appreciate how the book is organized by region with illustrated maps at the beginning of each section. The illustrations are beautiful throughout the book as well. I highly recommend this book as well as the National Parks of the USA book by the same illustrator. As a former teacher, I think that both of these books should be in every 4th grade classroom to encourage and inspire the Every Kid in a Park program that offers FREE entrance to all National Parks and Monuments in the US for 4th graders AND their families. Many 4th grade families don’t know about this amazing opportunity. All that’s needed is to sign up online and have the pass at the park entrance and the entire family gets in free (everykidoutdoors.gov).

The first monument the book covered was the Statue of Liberty. The second was the Stonewall LGBTQ monument.We loved the illustrations in our National Parks book by the same illustrator (which I highly recommend), and thought this would be a win, but unfortunately it’s a return. When there’s so much rich history to our country (albeit an imperfect one), I find it rather off-putting to highlight this monument in a children’s book. And yes, putting it second to the Statue of Liberty means something. Yep, I see that. Even Civil Right’s monuments, Fort McHenry, the fort that overlooked a famous battle in the Revolutionary War (in which our National anthem was written), and our National Mall and Memorial Parks come second to this very particularly aimed featured monument. The sexual identities creating the acronym LGBTQ are listed along with featuring a snippet about a sculpture called Gay Liberation. The illustrations include a drag queen, pride parades, gay men, and an explanation of the rainbow/trans/poc flag.Mt. Rushmore? Nope. Drag queen? Yes.Beautifully illustrated agenda.

We are a homeschool family, and travel is a big part of how we approach social studies and history. I absolutely loved this book as a way to help me plan our adventures in other states! It is beautifully illustrated. The tone of the writing is warm, inclusive and respectful. I personally feel a deeper connection to our country after reading this, and think it is a wonderful teaching tool. Highly recommend!

this book is a great way for families to explore the national monuments of the united states through absolutely beautiful illustrations and well written text. it's a great gift to give to families! it can be enjoyed by kids of any age if there's an adult to read the text to them. you'll finish with a big list of places your family will want to travel to.and yes, this book features a spread on Stonewall, which is a National Monument designated by the National Parks Service in 2016 by Barack Obama. if you have a problem with your child seeing two men holding hands - wake up, it's 2023.by the way, if you think one of your favorite national monuments is missing - it might be a national park, and there's a book of those too by the same illustrator - chris turnham. check it out!

National Monuments presents a highly selective choice of sites that illustrate the natural and historical monuments of the United States. The monuments chosen aren't necessarily the ones you think of immediately, that makes for a different book. But I am also a little befuddled to how the choices were made. The book is very nicely illustrated with drawings that will appeal to the targeted age group (6 to 10 year old) and the language is appropriate for that age range as well. Rather than being divided into the traditional north, south, plains, west, etc this book is divided into east, central, mountain west, southwest, west, Alaska and tropics. I am not sure how well that works--it seems to be based on time zones. Anyway, the choice of sites is interesting. There is a mix of natural and historical. I found the neglect of natural sites in the South to be glaring--no Everglades for example. Indeed the Southern sites are mostly focused on Civil Rights era places, which fine but there is more to the South than that. The western sites are all natural, it would be nice to see some historical sites emphasized the same way as in the east and central. Indeed, this book is strongest and best at describing the natural sites and that might have been the way to go for the whole book. The book is good, interesting, and informative, but with some limitation as noted. Parents should also know that there is a discussion of the Stonewall area of New York, so if you don't want to expose your young children to that story, know that it is there. If you want to, the text is appropriate. Best for natural sites like Muir Woods and the John Day Fossil Beds

So many interesting stories and facts in this gorgeous and well written book - Turnham’s art pulls you in, imaginative and beautiful. I see some reviewers are angry that it’s inclusive -Stonewall and Birmingham civil rights are thoughtfully given attention- but it’s that diversity that makes our country (and this book) so great. I’m buying as a gift for adults as well.

Very disappointed in the inappropriate “Alphabet People” sexual material that is grossly included in this CHILDREN’S book. Shame on the author for putting such content in a book marketed towards children and their families. As the cover seems innocent and clearly labeled for children, you would have no idea that this so-called “inclusive” material is a significant portion of this book unless you read the reviews here (and thankfully many other parents have called out the disgusting content in their reviews). Common sense is apparently waning in children’s books nowadays.

This book is a wonderfully illustrated feast of information and, blessedly, inclusive of all people who live in the USA. I love the stories accompanying each monument. It’s a book I can’t wait to share with my younger grandchildren.Bravo to author and illustrator.