Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Our California

Our California Pam Muñoz Ryan and artist Rafael Lopez created an amazing and colorful book about the beautiful state of California simply titled "Our California". The author takes us on a journey starting way down south in San Diego, San Juan Capistrano, Los Angeles, Monterey, and all the way to the top through Eureka and back down to Palm Springs. Through poems, Pam takes us through an amazing tour filled with historical facts, and descriptive paintings of each place. Each place is describe in a four line poem, but if you wish to have more information surfing in San Diego or visiting the mountains of Yosemite, then you can go all the way to end of the book where is filled with more detailed  information and interesting facts. It is a wonderful resource  book that makes informational reading fun and captivating because of the colorful paintings that go along with each poem.
This book provides such a wonderful idea instead of the traditional "All About the State of ________" reports. Our California can serve as a mentor text, a springboard of ideas from which students can find inspiration to create their own original book!
What can I say? Pam Muñoz Ryan did it again, and it is a hit!

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