B is For Buckeye: An Ohio Alphabet

Discover America State By State

by Marcia Schonberg, Bruce Langton (Illustrator)

Did you know that Ohio is called "The Mother of Presidents" for the eight United States Presidents born there? Or, that 23 astronauts -- the most of any state -- are from Ohio? These and more amazing facts are revealed in B is for Buckeye, a must-have for every Ohioan (from Ulysses S. Grant to John Glenn)! Brilliant illustrations by Bruce Langton and fascinating text by Marcia Schonberg bring Ohio history and information to life in the second of Sleeping Bear Press' state alphabet books.

Genres: Picture Books, Nonfiction, Childrens, Geography, American

40 pages, Hardcover

First published October 9, 2000

Reviews

[Melody · Rating 2 out of 5]

The poetry is not particularly inspired. It's actually kind of clunky. And I was surprised to find that the whole state of Ohio did not hold one illustrator competent to make drawings for this book, so they went to Wisconsin to find someone. C'mon, if you are going to write a book about how awesome Ohio is, the least you could do is to have a home-grown illustrator.

Overall it's a book full of facts that are presented in a fairly pedestrian way. The illustrations involving wildlife are head and shoulders above the rest. The poems in the center of each illustration are, as I said, clunky in the extreme. The text in the sidebars is just wooden but certainly informative.

[Elizabeth Edwards · Rating 5 out of 5]

we love OHIO ... great state parks ... what fun!! check it out!

[Tara Gregory · Rating 5 out of 5]

B Is For Buckeye is the best informational children's book of all time I recommend for all ages. I have one problem though; G should not be glacier it should be Great Serpent Mound. It is more known than Glaciers because no child knows what a glacier is or ever seen one and when you think of a glacier you don't think of Ohio.

- buss

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learning a lot about my home state! Love the illustrations!! Great book!!

[Leah G · Rating 3 out of 5]

Cute book. Full of information. We are not from Ohio, so it wasn’t very.... familiar, maybe, to us. It was full of facts but overall it’s not a book my daughter will be begging for us to read again.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

My son loves reading this series about the different states and what makes each state special.

[Brenda Anweiler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great little bits of history! Brought back many great memories of trips as a child!

[Marcy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great way to learn about Ohio!

[Memory Kopp · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun booked packed full of information on our great state of Ohio. The author Marcia Schonberg was born and raised in Ohio and graduated from The Ohio State University so she is truly a real buckeye. She does work for The Ohio Historical Society and helped publish a book called Marking Ohio’s History so she is very qualified to present us with the facts she does in B is for Buckeye. The illustrator Bruce Langton is very well accomplished with his oil, acrylic and watercolor and his wildlife pictures are brilliant. His illustrations work well in this story they seem almost like looking at a photograph. I would however have loved to see this story all about Ohio having an Ohio native as an author also have an illustrator from Ohio. This book is a great read and would be a wonderful addition to a classroom during a lesson on Ohio. Each letter has a short poem filled with information on that letter like “L stands for lady bug. Tiny, red and black, she wears a cloak of polka dots upon her round, hard back.” These short pieces of information make a nice choice for young readers in kindergarten and first grade. For the older reader in grades second through fourth, each letter has a side bar on the page with much additional information that ties the part in with Ohio. I am always drawn to books on local history and this one would make a great read along with its companion Cardinal Numbers: An Ohio Counting book also by this author.

[Kevin Cecil · Rating 1 out of 5]

I had to read this during the Social Studies portion of a Life Skills class I was subbing for. Each letter introduces a short poem on some glorifying Ohio factoid: A is for astronauts because a lot of astronauts are from Ohio, P is for presidents for the same reason, J is for Johnny Appleseed because he, like, was totally in Ohio once! The art is uninspired, as are the poems, and the expository side captions lack focus and are written like summaries of a half remembered Encyclopedia entry. I also can't help but take a little issue with its repeating theme of Christopher Columbus and his crew on the (S is for)Santa Maria as brave and noble explorers. This white-washed historical tactic becomes laughable when the "T is for Techumseh" entry tries to have its treaty and break it too by attempting to paint both Techumseh and his enemy, William Henry Harrison, as Ohioan folk heroes. F is for F this book.

[Jordan Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

B Is For Buckeye: An Ohio Alphabet
Author: Marcia Schonberg
Reading level: ages 7-10

Schonberg, Marcia (2000) B Is For Buckeye: An Ohio Alphabet Ann Arbor, Michigan: Sleeping Bear Press

This book is a clever, mature, and informational approach to ABC's. It's a tad wordy and technical; however, with proper guidance from a teacher or parent, I feel beginning readers can enjoy the book. This book is engaging and informative, and taught me some things I never new about Ohio.

The illustrations are crisp, clear, and absolutely gorgeous. The illustrator is clearly adept at their craft.

This book is great book for Ohio fanatics.

[Gina Diloreto · Rating 5 out of 5]

Schonberg, M. "B is for buckeye: an ohio alphabet". (2000). Chelsea, MI: Sleeping Bear Press.

I loved this book! Many unique state facts. Contains catchy snippets of facts on the main part of the page, with more in depth facts along the margins. There is a 'Basket of Buckeyes' list of more facts on the last page. This book could be used for children as young as 3 or 4, who are learning their abc's, or for grade school age children. Could be incorporated into a lesson on Ohio History.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Schonberg, M. B is for Buckeye: An Ohio Alphabet. Sleeping Bear Press (2000).

This picture book describes different interesting facts about the state of Ohio, by using the letters of the alphabet.

While this is an ABC book, the information and facts in the book make the reading level ages 4-8. Older students will find the facts about Ohio interesting and can be used when the history of Ohio is studied. This a great book to have for both beginners and older students.

[Kaitlyn Papp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Informational
Grade: 2-3

This style of book is awesome for young students!! It is very factual and easy to read. There is also extra knowledge and facts included on the sides of the pages if readers were wanting to dive deeper! Super fun and cool to learn about where you or the kids have grown up!

[Cathy aka The Attached Mama · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've lived in the buckeye state most of my life, but even I learned a lot about the state of Ohio from this book. The kids and I traveled the state visiting most of the places mentioned in this book. What a fun way to learn some state history!!

[Marisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cool non-fiction all about our great state. Could easily be read with just rhyming text for a program. Additional facts on each page create a richer experience.

[Heather · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book for Ohio studies learning. We used it for homeschool and found it to be very informative for children and adults!

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

pictures, history, facts, information and ideals about ohio

[WKWyverns]

4K got this first.

[Anna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun

Only an Ohioan would understand this book. I learned a few things here. Always willing to learn something new and exciting.