New York, New York!

You caught on that Jennifer and I will be attending the big Book Expo in NYC at the end of May, didn’t you? We’re also planning to be at the Book Bloggers Convention so we can see and be seen. (Is that the point? Maybe not. We’re going to learn about the industry and meet and greet our book blogging friends!) And no, I’m not the least little bit excited about it.

In preparation for this upcoming trip, (that our husbands are being oh so very encouraging and supportive of), I’ve been reading and looking at books on New York with my children. Can you guess the first publisher that I checked in with, to see if they had books on New York? If you guessed anything other than Sleeping Bear Press you would be very wrong! When it comes to educating children on exciting and new places, while still keeping things fun, Sleeping Bear Press cannot be beat!

To that end, I took a look at the following books with my kids:

Sleeping Bear Press is probably most well known for their state alphabet books. They are in the process of releasing a new series of board books featuring the individual states. They kindly let us take a look at Little New York which is full of rhymes and riddles for little ones to solve. Of course, each riddle relates to the state in some form or fashion.

Here’s a question for you:

What is the one food that Carrie is most excited to try when she flies out to New York?

Simple and easy to follow and understand, these new board books are a great way to teach youngsters about their own home state. Their collection of states is growing so keep an eye out. So far you can find Little Maine, Little New York, Little Michigan, and Little Pennsylvania.

E Is For Empire: A New York Alphabetintroduces the reader to the state of New York. As I have never been there before, I was curious to read through this book for myself! From A is for the Adirondacks to Z is for Zoot suits, I found this book delightfully entertaining and informative. Apparently New York state is home to the oldest cattle ranch. I didn’t know that. The back of this book also has twenty questions for the reader to answer.

Here’s your next question:

Who is one of Carrie’s favorite U.S. Presidents who happened to be born in New York City?

Times Square: A New York State Number Book is fun and festive looking. I’m almost tired out already just from looking at the illustrated crowd on the front cover! I’m not a big city girl, but nevertheless, I’m looking forward to experiencing it (with Jennifer!) and then being able to leave it and come home again (with more books!) In this book we count cornhusk dolls, apple trees from the Catskill Mountains as well as baseballs and beavers. (I didn’t realize the beaver had such notoriety in New York. Maybe I won’t feel so far away from home after all!)

Here’s your last question:

How many cupcakes is Carrie planning to eat a New York City bakery and how many calories is she going to have to force herself not to think about?

These books have provided a very fun way for my kids and family to learn about the state where mommy will be going here in the near future. We’ve been looking at maps and talking a lot about it. Thanks, Sleeping Bear Press, for being a part of the fun and for providing so much information for us! We sure do appreciate you!

Jennifer also previewed a fun new book that will appeal to those who love New York, as well as those who might be interested in architecture or wire crafting. Wow! New York City: Imagine a City Built with a Paper Clip has really incredible and original art, created by bending copper wire to fashion the cityscape, with pages devoted to Central Park, the Statue of Liberty, the subway and more. The text itself is very simple — easily digested for any preschooler, but I think that the artwork will appeal to much older readers as well. The last two-page spread is called “Boy + Metal = Art” and tells how Rey David Rojas got into wire art. At the end of the book there is also more advanced information like stats and dates and numbers.

Jennifer has a question for you too: How excited is she to be able to experience the fun and wonder of BEA and the Book Blogger Con AND get to hang out with Carrie for 3 days in the city that she has adopted as her own in these last five years???

Read some of Jennifer’s suggestions about what to do in NYC.

Carrie comes by her book obsession honestly, having descended from a long line of bibliophiles. She blogs about books regularly at Reading to Know and Reading My Library.