Only in America: The Weird and Wonderful 50 States

by Heather Alexander, Alan Berry Rhys (Illustrator)

A state-by-state compendium of weird laws, quirks, one-offs, and unusual records only to be found in the wonderfully wacky US of A.

Only in America  explores the strangest claims to fame and the most unusual place names every state has to offer. Visit the city of Dinosaur, drop by the Pizza Museum, find out where it is illegal to feed a pig without a permit, and check out the world’s only “carhenge” (that’s right, Stonehenge reconstructed using cars). Among many other marvels,
 
Illustrated by the brilliant Alan Berry-Rhys in a bold graphic art style that evokes vintage Americana, the book is arranged state by state , giving key facts about each and presenting an alternative and hilarious look at quirky phenomena that are truly only in America.

The 50 States series of books for young explorers celebrates the USA and the wider world with key facts and fun activities about the people, history, and natural environments that make each location within them uniquely wonderful. Beautiful illustrations, maps, and infographics bring the places to colorful life.

Also available from the 50 Trailblazers of the 50 States, Only in California, Only in Texas, We Are the United States, 50 Adventures in the 50 States, 50 Maps of the World,   The 50 States , and a wide array of activity books..

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

112 pages, Paperback

Published May 7, 2024

Reviews

[Alicia Bayer]

I have had the opportunity to live in many of the states and have visited all but three (Hawaii, Alaska and Texas), so I feel fairly familiar with many, many states of the 50. This book is colorful and interesting, but it didn't really give me a real feel for the actual states as I know them. I live in Minnesota now and have for over 20 years. I'm in rural SW MN now but went to high school in northern MN and lived in other parts as well. The entry on MN was technically most true but didn't really depict the MN I know. Each state tells you what funny saying the residents say and how they talk, but it's not usually true. Minnesotans are supposed to say "Ya sure, you betcha" according to this book. 🙄 Oh please. We may occasionally only making fun of shows like Fargo (of course, Fargo is really in ND but the TV show takes place in northern MN for whatever reason). It mentions the prehistoric carvings at the Jeffers Petroglyphs, which is awesome (our family has volunteered at the site for 20 years) but most of it is just random little trivia. I do agree that "hot dish" is a good MN food to list, but the other two don't really represent the state to me at all. And Alexander makes hot dish sound like a specific mixture instead of just saying it's our word for casserole. She doesn't mention it but the phrase just comes from the old tradition of signing up to bring either a hot dish (like a casserole) or a cold dish (like a salad) to pot lucks.

I am very familiar with living in Maine, California, Florida, Ohio, Kentucky, Arkansas and others. Again and again I was just sort of nonplussed by the entries. They're all technically true little facts, but without photos of the states or meaningful entries it's just a very colorful book of state trivia. That can be fun for kids, but it won't go very far in giving kids an actual feel for the states.

It's still a fun little book and will be a nice intro to the states.

I read a temporary digital ARC of this book for review.

[Theediscerning]

A distinctive gazetteer of the American states, that goes some way to providing a certain kind of educational trivia – here we get all the nicknames, the capital, and what the US Mint state quarter designs are – and a whole host besides. Each page is a colourful spread of data, from the routine that every state gets in one infobox, to snippets and captions and factoids all over the rest, allowing you to find out where the world's biggest ketchup bottle is, or what food festival goes where, or what unusual byelaw is held to be important. Where, after all, do they throw cowpats all over the place, and where can you not throw snowballs? A lot of this (too much, perhaps) is food-related, with every state's chosen dishes in at least two places per entry, and then there are all the food festivals, harvest events and celebrations besides.

So I daren't say then that this gives a suitable flavour of every state. It doesn't, anyway, for it really does concentrate on the trivial, all the while it's pretending we ourselves should try to become a junior logsplitting champ, or aim to see the world's biggest bovine furball. It probably only has much mileage within the 50, and I can see some educators there deeming this a little throwaway and irrelevant even then. It does have some eye-catching appeal and a browse would harm nobody, but an essential purchase for a school library? I don't think so.

[Carryl Lee]

A compilation of trivia about each state with colorful graphics but no photographs. I agree with another reviewer who said that it doesn't really give the "flavor" of each state other than in a literal sense with a lot of food references. It is a fun introduction to the states as long as you don't need depth.

Disclosure: I read a self-deleting advance review copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

[Brindi Michele]

this is a fun way to explore the States :)

[Amy Warren]

Omg..this book is so fascinating and wonderful. I have two young kids and both in recent years have studied the US as part of their social studies classes, I WISH I had this book. I learned something new on the first page--that the Presidentof the United States and his family have their own secret zip code in order to get personal mail delivered. It's so colorful and has so many interesting facts about the country, our society as well as individual states. I'll be referencing this for a long time to come! Highly recommend, especially as a gift book.

[Bridgette]

Loved all the fun/wacky facts about all the states. I think children will enjoy this book all while learning some about different states.

[Enor]

Factual but bizarre. Informing but unusual.

[joyce w. laudon]

When I was in the fifth grade, as a reward for going to the dentist, my mom bought me a book that I wanted; it was about the United States. I can still picture this Golden Book’s cover. Only in America would have been so loved by me then. It can be enjoyed by kids now.

Within these pages are fun things to learn about the U.S. So much is included in this title that has great graphics. Learn about state nicknames, fast facts which includes things like funny place names and state slang, numerical facts, information about animals, sports and so much more. For example, who knew that Scottsboro, Alabama is the lost luggage capital of the world or that the favorite dessert of Oklahomans is fried pie? Read on your own state and discover old favorite facts and ones that you may not have known. I was from Rhode Island. I knew about quahogs and cabinets but not about a vampire legend. Open this book anywhere and enjoy what is on display. It is such fun!

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher. All opinions are my own.
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[Beth]

I love books like this. I love random facts. Random state facts are some of my favorite. Kids will love this book because while there's a lot of words on a page they are in small groupings of facts.
The country is divided by state and it tells you the state nickname. In the case of Alabama they talk about Alabama and Auburn football of course in other states they might mention something like that that is important to their state. There's animals from the state. Things invented/creating in the state. Famous people. Did you know that in Illinois that the world's largest rocking chair is in Casey? I didn't. But you know the next time I travel to Illinois I might look and see if it is on my route. 99% of the nation's hazelnuts are grown in Oregon. Excuse me I am going to go learn some more random facts.

[Beverly]

Each double-page spread concentrates on one state, with numerous info-bites about museums, people, favorite foods, inventions, capitol cities, firsts, monsters, and a lot of quirky stuff. For example, there is a giant sculpture of a killer bee in Hidalgo, Texas. This book sent me to Google many times searching for images of things that were mentioned. Fascinating stuff that especially travelers will enjoy.
One caveat about Kentucky: the author made no mention of the life-sized Noah's Ark attraction near Williamstown, KY (The Ark Encounter). People can tour all three levels of the ark which is filled with fascinating exhibits and information. And while the author mentioned many museums, she did not include a single creation/science museum, which are found in several states, including Texas, Kentucky, and Tennessee.

[gingerfordays]

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing an eARC of this title in exchange for my honest review.

This book was right up my alley. I enjoyed every second of it.

I’m from one of those families that would make you do trivia/brain teasers on long car rides, so this spoke to the joy I always got from that (and apparently still get). This is like an expansion of one of my favorite childhood possessions: a book of facts about my home state (I still own it too).

Each state has its own spread of really fun, quirky, and interesting facts/laws that blew my mind. I learned so much cool information that was really complemented by the bright and fun art style.

I can’t wait to own a physical copy so I can share this joy with my future little ones.

[The Silvan Reverie | Sarah Street]

This is the kind of encyclopedia-type book I would have LOVED as a kid! Instead of simply learning some geographical details and the state flags and flowers (which, by the way, are NOT included in this book), this book makes learning about the fascinating and unique details of each state FUN and PLAYFUL. You know... it's the kind of book kids will actually pick up and read, not the kind adults tell them to read. There is a great depth of detail provided to highlight random facts of each state. Since I live in Indiana, I tried to hone in on that state and see if it rightly represented my home state. I will say that I was pleasantly charmed and of course learned a bunch of "weird and wonderful" things!

***Note: I was given a review copy of this book via Quarto Kids. Opinions are my own.

[MookNana]

Each state gets a brightly illustrated, detailed two-page spread of both "informative" facts like the capital, major historical places/events, etc. and "fun" facts like ridiculous place names and silly laws. This is very enjoyable, interesting reading that will be accessible and appealing to students. It would be great to try with reluctant readers as the text is broken into short chunks and the subject matter is entertaining.

I would definitely recommend this for middle grade school and classroom libraries!

Many thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read and review!

[Sara Aoyama]

A really nice reference book for children interested in exploring the US and the distinct aspects of each state. I can imagine my grandson reading this and calling out facts and questions to his parents who'd be answering, "Really? I never knew that!" So, it could engage the whole family.
The book is colorful with a distinct color pallet and after awhile I was wishing that it could have had actual photos as well. I did love that it gave book titles for the states and upon reading the state pages for places I've lived I found it a satisfying mix of both old and new-to-me information. This would certainly be a good holiday gift.

[Mehsi]

I received this book from Netgalley in exchange of an honest review.


My second book in which we travel through America. I earlier read a book about road trips through the US and all the weird things you can find. So of course, when I saw another fun US book I had to get it!

This was a pretty fun book in which we learn about the 50 states of the US and all that happened and happens there.From facts about weird town names (I had such a big laugh on many of the names and wondered how any of those were official) to weird laws that had me scratching my head to inventions and who made them, to food and drinks which made me very hungry (or not so as some combos just doesn’t sound like something my stomach wants) to special people who did something awesome or weird, special buildings, and more. There is a lot of information packed into this book and I loved finding out more about America. There was a lot I didn’t know. So I learned a whole lot and that makes me very happy. I am not sure if I remember everything if someone asks me, but it is tucked somewhere in my head. XD

There are also plenty of illustrations and fun art to make the book stand out and make reading more fun. I loved how colourful the book was as well. It really pops!~

My only complaint would be that it does get a tad boring, it would have been fun to mix things up a bit. Not the same format for all 50 states. Also, I get that this is a book for the US, but seriously, put some cm and metres and such next to the inches and whatevers. Because seriously, I have no clue how high/far/big/small something is if you tell me it is 30 inches or 2 miles. And no, I am not going to keep on Googling. That is fun once, but not all the book.

But all in all, I had fun reading this one and I am happy I got the chance. I would also recommend it, yes it was a bit samey, but I still had fun reading it and I loved all the facts from normal to weird.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Emily]

Fun and mostly acurate facts. Can't speak on all the states but at least for Ohio (my own state) there were a few facts listed that were either not true or partially untrue, such as slang. You really shouldn't lsit something as being "Ohio slang" if most of the state does not use it, or an "Ohio Myth" if someone living here their whole life has never heard of this myth. That was frustrating. And I can only assume similar misinformation was also printed for other states (because what are the odds they got 2 or 3 things wrong with ONLY the state I'm knowledgable about). Kinda frustrating and took away from the wonder of the rest of the book.

[Kate Henderson]

This book is absolutely bonkers! But I lapped it up!
The book is beautifully laid out, and there is so much information.

This book would make such a great gift for a young person, and could imagine my younger self receiving this book in christmas day, and then devouring it all in one sitting after dinner.
It has such an uplifting, positive vibe about it - even though the facts are a little strange.

Absolutely fascinating, and I think young people would adore this - possible christmas pressie, me thinks!

[Lellie]

The United States is a unique country and that's something I only came to appreciate in my young adulthood when I moved abroad. Firstly, it's absolutely massive in land size and has almost every ecosystem from flatlands to forests to desert to tropical to tundra. Secondly, it's incredibly culturally diverse. This book gives one page to each state filled with illustrations and facts about the state, from "serious" facts like the state flag and nickname to "fun" facts like slang and foods.

Thank you to netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest review!

[Jess]

I love this book! It’s not always easy to get kids into books. This book is just the kind to get them hooked, yet also get them excited to learn about the continental US. It’s jam-packed with quirky info (enough for kids to want to reread it multiple times) and fun illustrations. There’s an easy to follow organization which includes text features like a table of contents, an index, and even a “map” for how to read each page. Thank you to NetGalley for the advance copy - I cannot wait to get a copy for my classroom and my own children.

[Melissa]

We keep a children's atlas in the car for our kids to pore over whenever we travel, and I think Only in America would be an excellent companion. They love learning (and sharing) fun, random facts! My favorite feature is the book recommendations for each state -- I can't wait to start requesting books from the library. We are also excited to add new trip ideas to our family adventure list.

Fun fact: our small town is mentioned on the Iowa spread!

(I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.)

[Nancy]

Thank you to NetGalley, Heather Alexander and Quarto Publishing Group for the book Only in America. This is my personal review.
I had such a fun time reading this book! I learned so many facts and lots of great trivia.
It was a great trip across America learning things about the many states I have lived in and traveled in. I found so many things that I will share with friends and family. I liked the weird names of towns and the odd laws in some states.
This is a book that will make a great holiday gift.

[Dawn]

This cute book takes the reader on a tour of the United States state by state. With each state, you are given some basic facts, interesting facts, slang, types of food, interesting town names and so much more. The graphics are very appealing and draw the reader in to read more about each state. With it being a non fiction fact book, the reader can skip around and read what they like whenever they like.
This book is a must for elementary age children who love geography or non fiction.
Many thanks to Net Galley for providing me with an ARC of this book.

[Sonia]

My daughter is enjoying reading the book. State trivias are too trivial but i think thats what makes my daughter come back to it daily. I wish some of the trivia was more significant.
Few places the food related stuff is in contradiction. One place mentioned favorite pizza topping as clams and the bottom read something else. So that makes you doubt it. Too much emphasis on food really. So the only thing it really teaches is capitals and state nicknames really.
But it has been interesting enough that my kid is sitting through it.

[Cherokee - Books With A Chance]

I homeschool my children, and this was such a fun addition to our USA curriculum. It was full of facts that I'd never heard before, and my children loved learning new things about places they've been or would like to visit. We definitely learned of some things/places we'd like to check out.

The illustrations were cute. The only thing that I had a problem with was the different font colors on the colored background. Sometimes I was a bit hard for me to read, but not a huge deal.

[L.A.]

A good coffee table book! My five-year-old and I took about 45 days to get through it, as part of her geography curriculum while memorizing state capitals. Fun to look up some interesting sights and add them to our Google “to see” someday list. The only thing a bit wonky was the “State Favorites” list at the bottom of each state spread—fairly certain those are randomly selected and not based on data. 😂

[Aleksandra]

ok, so this is weird. The book is full of trivia and information I should like but it was a boring read... Left out a couple of last pages. I gave a high score because this book has a lot of good stuff (but personally didn't have patience to read every single fact, especially food and state specific language). I particularly liked the collectioner's coins for each state. I also liked the sidebar layout and the basic info for each state put in there. I would say it is good for kids and for adults.

[Sheila]

I received an advance copy of, Only in America!, by Heather Alexander. I loved this book, it had great facts and information on all the states. Some I have never heard of before, like, state favorites, ice cream, fruits etc. An facts about strange or different people or animals in that state, like in Alabama leaving a banana peel on the grave of a squirrel monkey.

[Joni Owens]

Nifty Fifty state facts! We love road trips and finding different towns so this was the perfect book for our family. Every state has facts about foods and different famous people. The illustrations are cute. Great for families that love to travel and that are interested in the Geography of the United States.

[Tina Milledge]

In incredibly eye pleasing book full of bright colours, bold illustrations and fun trivia about the states of America. I loved it. I can see it’s appeal for burg a young and older audience. It’s what I’d call a ‘coffee table book’, which one can dip in and out of. Can’t wait to buy my own paper copy. My thanks to NetGalley, publisher and author for the opportunity to review a digital copy.

[Nita Ankrom]

What a fun way to take a quick tour of the United States. This book is designed in such a way that it makes the reader want to read all of the little bits of information about each state. It can easily be read as a complete book or used as a reference book to get information about a specific state.