Social Studies

DE BRUNHOFF, Laurent. Babar’s USA. photos by Zephir. illus. by author. unpaged. CIP. Abrams. 2008. RTE $17.95. ISBN 978-0-8109-7096-0. LC 2007043139.

MCCLINTOCK, Barbara. Adèle & Simon in America. illus. by author. unpaged. maps. CIP. Farrar/Frances Foster Bks. 2008. Tr $16.95. ISBN 978-0-374-39924-5. LC 2007016587.

PRICEMAN, Marjorie. How to Make a Cherry Pie and See the U.S.A. illus. by author. unpaged. map. CIP. Knopf. 2008. Tr $16.99. ISBN 978-0-375-81255-2; PLB $19.99. ISBN 978-0-375-91255-9. LC 2007046064.

K -Gr 3-It’s a big country and early social studies lessons about our nation underscore its vastness and the diversity of its people. A new crop of picture books highlighting the customs, traditions, cultures, and natural wonders found coast to coast will help teachers impart these first lessons.

In Babar’s USA, full-color photos of the sites, superimposed with cutout images of everyone’s favorite pachyderm (and his family), take readers from New York City’s Times Square to Nashville, TN's music scene to Wyoming’s Yellowstone National Park. Throughout their trip the animal family makes observations about their host country and its citizens.

Adèle & Simon travel at a more leisurely pace at the turn of the 20th century in McClintock’s book. With stops in Boston, Seattle, Denver, Santa Fe, New Orleans, and other spots, her characters witness life in the United States from small towns to big cities. At each location young Simon loses another personal item – a hat, a journal, a pencil box – inviting readers to pore over McClintock’s picturesque scenes as they help the boy locate his possessions.

It’s missing baking equipment and a closed shop that sends the young protagonist in Cherry Pie on the road. Her search for a pie pan, a rolling pin, a measuring cup, and other supplies takes her from “the corner of Pennsylvania and Ohio” to Texas (“When you hit Florida, turn right.”) to Alaska for the resources needed to make these products. Energetic illustrations featuring a young girl and her dog add humor to an already silly premise. A recipe for cherry pie is included and endpapers feature a map of the United States. B