The books in this series adequately cover the land, people, economy, environment, and history of a specific state. Clear photos and illustrations support the readable text. Fact lists, a state song, a time line, a list of famous residents, places to visit, events, maps, and graphs are appended. A recipe is included in each volume, but warnings about adult help often aren't relevant or omit important caveats. There are fifteen other fall 2001 books in this series. Bib., glos., ind. [Review covers these Hello U.S.A. titles: Alabama, Ohio, Maine, Arizona, Alaska, Texas.]

Gr 2-4-These books fail to engage or inform young readers. Each title highlights two famous citizens. Wisconsin features Frank Lloyd Wright and Vince Lombardi. Lombardi is a native of New York and only spent about 10 years in Wisconsin. Surely, others who actually were native citizens (Gaylord Nelson, Bob LaFollette, William Rehnquist, Golda Meir, and Georgia O'Keeffe all come to mind) could have been selected. The historical events in the nine-entry time line for Wisconsin include such "important" happenings as the 154th anniversary of the Wisconsin State Fair and the appointment of former Governor Tommy Thompson as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services. Even the "Important Words" are questionable, with "capital" and "nickname" in all three books out of a total of only five or six words, but not "effigy." The photo choices are also strange, e.g., 4 of the 13 pictures in Ohio are of Cedar Point Amusement Park. The index also raises questions. "United States Census Bureau," "West," and "Midwest" appear in all three, when none of those terms is particularly important in the texts. There is little, if anything, to recommend these books. Discover America (Encyclopedia Britannica, 2005), "Rookie Read-about Geography" (Children's Press), "Welcome to the U.S.A." (The Child's World), "Hello U.S.A." (Lerner), "It's My State!" (Benchmark), and "America the Beautiful" (Children's Press) are more complete, exciting, readable, and accurate.-Kate Kohlbeck, Randall School, Waukesha, WI Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.