Wow! America!

by Robert Neubecker

With breathtaking paintings and lots of fun facts, this book introduces young readers to such awesome wonders of America as the Mississippi River and Niagara Falls. Full color.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Travel, Geography

48 pages, Hardcover

First published May 2, 2006

About the author

Robert Neubecker is the award-winning author-illustrator of Wow! City! and Wow! Ocean! He has illustrated many other books for young readers. His work has been published by Slate, the Wall Street Journal, and the New York Times. He lives in Park City, Utah, with his family.

Reviews

[Joanne Roberts · Rating 3 out of 5]

I definitely enjoyed this unusual picture book by New York Times illustrator Robert Neubecker. The book presents an interesting pictorial overview of the United States. In this follow-up to Neubecker's Wow! City! the author/illustrator weaves a thin story of a girl looking for her younger sibling into a succession of highlights about America's diverse landscape. Each double spread pairs a series of points of interest with a mural-like cartoon of a region in the U.S. For example, the text "New England is famous for fishing and ships and patriots and pilgrims. Wow! Lobster!" includes fisherman and said lobsters.

The book contains a few random fold-outs. It doesn't really follow the regions in order, but roughly travels from Maine to Florida and from East Coast to West. The book is fun, if not particularly informative. It's colorful pictures and easy sentences may make it popular as an early introduction to the nation's wonders.

[Stephanie Watson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is all about the bright, busy, fun pictures. The text is very limited. A good tour around the country for young readers.

[Jessie Bear · Rating 4 out of 5]

Izzy, Jo, and their golden dog take a fantastical journey around America, starting before the title page and ending at home, with storytime. This book can be read in one, two, or three appreciative ways, adding complexity for a slightly older audience. The first way this book can be read is to be simply entertained by the dramatic illustrations, especially the fold-out panoramic¬ spreads. The second way this book can be read is as a puzzle to locate Izzy and Jo, with an additional search for their dog, who is sometimes more difficult to spot, especially in crowded urban spreads. The third way this book can be enjoyed is as an introduction or reinforcement to learning and recognizing American landmarks, familiarizing young Americans with a simplified foundational knowledge of their nation’s geography. The end papers contain maps of the United States, the front one with state names and the back one filled with the landmarks from the story. Neubecker’s illustrations are bold black outlines filled in by a great variety of colors with different palettes according to the landmark depicted. For example, Niagara Falls employs a palette of various shades of blue and turquoise. Neubecker’s peopled landscapes picture a diverse America filled with people of all ages and races. This vivid picture book is highly recommended for children ages three to eight.

[Russell · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's refreshing to see a novel with a soft open, starting off the plot before introducing the book.

Fantastic details throughout the book. Knowing that the Americans wear disposable blue parkas on the Maid of the Mist, and those venturing down to the fall get yellow parkas? Fantastic. The Statue of Liberty mask at Mardi Gras as a nice callback to the statue earlier? Amazing. Illustrating that Washington DC is trapped within itself, a self-reflective bubble ignoring the outside world? Beautiful subversive touch. As was the Nascar hat wearing guy with a tattoo and a can of beer at the fair.

Though I question how two children and a dog gained entry to the now defunct space shuttle program. And the judgement of exposing them to Mardi Gras crowd.

Much like the space shuttle is now a dated reference, it's also shocking to see the polar bears on an ice floe, under the text about snow and ice never melting away. This book came out before The Economics of Climate Change: The Stern Review, but not by much. Come on.

[Peggy Archer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book shows many different 'Wow!' places to see in the USA as the reader follows Izzy and Jo's trek across America. 'Wow! Corn!,' Wow! Mountains,' Wow! Statue!'--and so forth, with brief text that tells what the illustration is about and where it's found in the US. There is a large colorful map at the front and back of the book so the reader can identify even better where these things are found. I kind of lost track of Izzy and Jo as I read the book, but this is a great introduction to our beautiful country.

[Darcy Gonzales · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overall book for young children about American symbols such as Statue of Liberty, Grand Canyon, Beach, Lobster. Takes the reader all over the country following Izzy and her sister Jo. The reader gets to move the book in different ways to see illustrations and words.

[Vicki]

What a cool book about America. I really enjoyed reading this one. It was amazing and had the greatest illustrations.

[Susan Katz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow! is right. The art is rich and attractive, and the facts that border the illustration are interesting too.

[Kimberly Maughon · Rating 5 out of 5]

great books for showing man different cities and American landmarks. very informative but very age appropriate. would be great for around American holidays. or anytime

[Greggd · Rating 2 out of 5]

WOW, not real impressive, don't know how this became a series.

[ECKane · Rating 4 out of 5]

My students loved this book!

[Katie Fitzgerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read at Summer Camp Story Time at Town of Mamakating on 7/1/16: http://storytimesecrets.blogspot.com/...

[Robin Raines-Bond · Rating 4 out of 5]

WOW! Loved this book about our great nation. Kids will enjoy all the illustrations and information.

[Suzy Rogers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully illustrated tour of America.