As a teacher, I’m surrounded by children’s books. They literally fall at my feet every day (luckily, I haven’t had one land on my head…yet). So I figure I’ll share my children’s book wisdom, and review any excellent books I come across. My focus will be geography, culture, and anything related to western states.
I recently came across the book Our California by Pam Muñoz Ryan at a local bookstore. The first thing that caught my eye was the fact that they had the same title in spanish: Nuestra California. I’m always excited to find a great book that’s also translated into spanish.
Our California is appropriate for kids from age 3 to 10. It covers all the geographical areas of California, and the map on the first page makes it accessible for even the youngest kids. The book takes kids on a journey to fourteen different cities and regions in California: from San Diego to Sonoma, to Yosemite to Death Valley. The last seven pages include facts about each place, which would be more suitable for older kids.
The poems on each page are brief, but descriptive enough to give kids a sense of each place. What really makes this book so outstanding, is how the illustrator, Rafael López, makes the narration come alive with his bright, Latino-inspired drawings. The author and illustrator both bring out the colorful, multicultural history of California. I appreciate any book that is so true to the essence of a place.
I would recommend this book to any California kid who needs to brush up on the geography and history of their state (I’m looking at you third and fourth graders!). Our California is also a terrific book for families who are making a visit to the Golden State.
Click on picture link above to head over to Amazon.
My son loves to get his hands on a map. Since the time he could walk and hold a map at the same time, he has happily led me through many zoos, aquariums, and amusement parks. I use to think it was adorable, and secretly thought I had a little cartographer in training. 
