Quick Summary: Fantastic!

My Review: National Parks of the U.S.A. by Kate Siber and illustrated by Chris Turnham is one of the best kid-friendly geo resources I have come across. With colorful and detailed illustrations and factually-rich content, this book was like taking a trip right from the comfort of home.

My Final Say: This book should be incorporated into every ES/MS Social Studies program.

Rating: 5/5
Recommend: Yes
Audience: Y

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I loved the format of this book! The illustrations were amazing and the information contained within its pages was concise and served to whet the reader's appetite for more. I bought a copy for my classroom library.

Picked this one up as a potential one to get for my nieces, and I will definitely be doing so for either birthday or Christmas. Love the illustrations and it suits the love for the outdoors and exploration that they both have.

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An excellent way to introduce and teach children about National Parks, Park's preservations, and native ecosystems. The book can be used with children from 7 to 11 years old.

Though I must first confess that I wasn't able to finish the whole book before writing this review, I can't say it enough how much I loved this boook!
The illustrations alone are beautiful, but the informational material in this book is fantastic! It makes me want to pack my bags and plan a cross country trip right away! I only had access to the digital version of this book but I know I'd love the paper version. It was full of things I didn't know...information about the park's history as well as information on the plants and animals that can be found in the parks and it was all very interesting!
I recommend this book for people of all ages. It'd be a great gift for anyone who loves to travel or a budding scientist!
*I received a free digital copy of this book in exchange for my honest review

I'd wager most of us can't name more than one or two national parks. This book is a nice introduction to a few of those parks. It's a curious selection, some well known some more obscure. The selected parks get a short overview, a brief description and a few animals, plants, and natural features one might see at the park. Parks are organized by region, allowing the reader to see the spread across the country, which may lead the curious to look into how each park was founded.

4.5 stars. Thank you to Netgalley and Wide Eyed Editions for giving me a free copy of this delightful book!

As a home-body overly fond of air conditioning, I have to say: Can I go hiking now? This book is a marvelous collection of tidbits about the national parks and the history, plant life, and animals that populate them. I felt like I was learning new things during every information session. The language used is playful and fun, with little prompts and challenges for the reader that would engage young ones looking through this book. The illustrations are gorgeous and colorful, and I love that there's a sort of eye-spy section at the end.

Overall, this was awesome. I already put it on the Christmas list for my nieces.

My only very tiny critique is that some of the text was hard to read (dark text over a dark background), but since I was reading a digital copy that might not be an issue in the printed version.

Highly recommend for kids and adults alike!

3.5★
"Get ready for a big adventure! On your journey through the national parks, you’ll find mind-boggling wonders, from the continent’s biggest peak to a mile-deep canyon, dark swamps filled with critters, and volcanoes that pelt lava straight into the sea. Creatures big and small abound in these wild lands, from thundering bison to tiny seahorses. The parks protect some of America’s most spectacular landscapes, wild animals, and precious plants."

The font used is artistic and pretty, but I think it might be hard for young readers to decipher. And I'm not sure the lack of photographs and the colours used in the illustrations will actually inspire children to want to visit the parks.

Having said that, this would be a lovely book for anyone who's already visited some of the parks. Without meaning to belittle the artwork, this is more the kind of thing I've seen in high-quality tourist brochures that are sold or given to visitors with maps and guides. In other words, a souvenir of what they have seen, or are about to see, in real life.

The artwork is a unique, flat style with a limited palette of colours, depending on the landscape. I say limited, because these beautiful places are far brighter and less subdued than the illustrations show.

I know, I know, there's the internet of all things and images and someone can show the real pictures to children. But if this is meant to introduce children to the wonders of the US National Parks, I think they need to see the natural beauty, not a stylised interpretation.

The real Grand Canyon and Yosemite are much more colourful and spectacular than these illustrations would suggest. And "suggest" is what they do.

The marine environments are blues and greens, the southwest is reds and rusts, the mountain country is browns and dark greens. Each section of the country is introduced with a map of the country and inserts where the parks are for each section (Eastern, Central, etc). I was pleased to see the Virgin Islands and Hawaii there, since I (like many, I imagine), think of parks you can drive to. Silly, I know.

There is a full-page illustration for each, often including a few people for scale, and then there is a following page featuring some wildlife, plants, weeds, poisonous creatures and such.

The information is enough to raise awareness and conversations, and the details may send older kids to look for more. There's a big index and a wildlife quiz at the end.

It is very pretty. My Goodreads review includes some illustrations at the end.

Thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing / Wide-Eyed Editions for a copy for review.

Outstanding book that takes you on a journey of America's National Parks. Beautifully illustrated with just the right amount of text, I want to pack up the car and take a road trip after reading this! The book is divided into seven geographical sections: East Coast, Central, Southwest, Rocky Mountains, West Coast, Alaska, and Tropics. The Parks include: Acadia, Badlands, Big Bend, Biscayne, Bryce Canyon, Channel Islands, Death Valley, Denali, Everglades, Glacier, Glacier Bay, Grand Canyon, Great Smoky, Mountains, Hawaii volcanoes, Isle Royal, Mesa Verde, Olympic, Sequoia and Kings Canyon, Virgin Islands, Yellowstone and Yosemite. Each Park includes the flora and fauna found within, maps and bright colored graphics that capture each location perfectly.

Thank you Netgalley and Quarto Publishing Group - Wide Eyed Editions for an advanced copy of this book.

This is such a beautiful and educational book! Reading this has strengthened my interest in revisiting some national parks I've been to, and visiting parks I haven't been to!

I absolutely love the illustration style of this book. I like that it is broken down into sections of the US to cover the national parks. I think that students will find the approach of small bits of text with illustrations easier to read and more interesting than a more textbook style approach. My only problem with it was that they did not have a spread about each park. Only a few of the 59 national parks were chosen to have more detailed information about and I was really hoping they would have done that for all of the parks to make it more comprehensive and complete.

Love this book! It is fantastically designed with perfect information. This is a book to guide us along to all the National Park of the USA. It has all the information needed with a beautiful design. It is interesting and information even if it is only reference and we don't get to visit we will have the knowledge.

This is the perfect book for kids to read during the summer–whether they’re visiting these sites in person or taking their visit through reading. There are maps, descriptions, and facts about the best known American National Parks to help kids understand and appreciate those areas. There are plenty of pages to pore over and learn lots of great information, but it never feels like an info dump since the text is paired with frequent illustrations.

In a departure from other reference type books, it uses illustrations rather than actual photographs. Some people may not enjoy that format as much, but I thought the illustrations were beautiful and I really enjoyed the unique approach.

I have seen other non-fiction books by this publisher and I can tell this one would be even more beautiful in physical form!

Fact-filled and beautifully illustrated! National Parks of the USA takes you on a tour of the National Parks throughout the country. If you can't visit the parks in person, then this book is a great introduction to the wide range of beauty the United States’ offers.

This is a beautifully illustrated book which is full of fascinating facts and little known information about of the wide variety of national parks which cover the 50 states of America. Each page is covered by an aray of exquisite pictoral representations of the particular park and the inhabitants both floral and fauna that are within it. This is a book primarily aimed at children and it is a perfect way to educate them on one of America's national treasures but is also perfect for adults who want to learn about it to and in a visually appealing way. This is book suitable for all who wish to learn about America's national parks in spectacularly designed book.

The United States has some of the most spectacular scenery and wonderful wildlife on the planet, and nowhere is that more evident than in its national parks. National Parks of the USA by Kate Siber explores each of the country’s 59 parks one by one, showcasing their heritage, geology, ecology, and more.

National Parks of the USA covers the parks by region and is divided into seven sections: East, Central, Southwest, Rocky Mountains, West, Alaska, and Tropics. Each section gets a double-page spread which introduces it and the type of environment which defines that region. The parks are then introduced one by one and each park receives two double-page spreads. The first double-page spread showcases a stunning illustration by Chris Turnham and introduces the park in broad, descriptive terms more reminiscent of a travel brochure than a factual book.

The second double-page spread for each park is where the most detail is to be found. Every park gets a basic fact box which tells us which state(s) the park is located in, the year it was founded, and how many acres it covers. The rest of the pages are devoted to looking at what you will find there. This is mostly plants and animals, but you will also read information about the park’s geology and landscape, archeology, weather, current issues, and man-made history. Every item on these pages is accompanied by another small illustration and the book doesn’t shy aware from discussing difficult topics which have been part of the history of these locations, including the slave trade and the difficulties imposed upon native people. By reading only these two pages I was able to get a good idea of what each park is like, even for the parks I knew little or nothing about beforehand.

The book ends with an A-Z of wildlife complete with a challenge to find out which park each creature lives in, and a reminder that we need to protect these parks or their history and scenery will be lost to future generations. There’s also an index which lists the names of all the parks, plants, animals, geological features, and more that are covered in the book, making this an excellent homework resource as well as an enjoyable read by itself.

My only complaints about National Parks of the USA were that it uses some really awful fonts which often made it difficult to read (this is especially true of the first double-page spread for each park) and that it wasn’t long enough; I could have happily read at least two more pages about each park. As beautiful as the illustrations were—and there are many I would happily hang on my walls—it would have been lovely to see at least one photograph of each park as well in order to see how they look in the real world compared to the illustrations, perhaps in a “postcard” section at the end.

National Parks of the USA made me want to jump on a plane to America and head off on a trip to visit all 59 parks. The combination of illustrations and text made every park seem beautiful and full of its own unique magic, whether that’s from exploring the ancient dwellings of native people, spotting creatures I’ve only ever seen photographs of, or climbing a mountain to be the first person in the United States to see the sunrise. I foresee many future visits to these amazing locations for myself and anyone who reads this book.

It's never to early to encourage a love and appreciation for our national parks. Kate Siber's National Parks of the U.S.A. is an overview of the national parks for young readers. With maps, brief descriptions of a visit, and descriptions of the flora, fauna, and features of the parks, she gives children a brief introduction to our nation's wonderful resources in the parks.

Chris Turnham's terrific illustrations emphasize the plant and animal life at the parks. Your favorite park may be left out; it is an overview, with parks from each region of the country represented, but many were excluded from a more detailed look. Kids will enjoy learning about some of these parks, and will likely be inspired to start planning next summer's vacation to visit! These parks truly are a national treasure. Each generation will want to experience them.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the complimentary electronic review copy!

'National Parks of the USA' by Kate Siber with illustrations by Chris Turnham is a tour and field guide to some of the natural wonders of the United States.

The book tells the history of how National Parks were first established, then shows the parks by region starting in the East and heading West. Each region shows all the parks, then some of the parks are highlighted. The highlighted parks talk about animals and plants that can be seen as well as types of land formations. Each has a location as well as the founding date of the National Park.

At 112 pages, there are parks that get left out, but it's a good overview, and should leave plenty for the curious to explore. The illustrations drew me to request this for review, and they don't disappoint. I love the full two page illustrations for each featured park and all the thumbnails for animals and plants. This would be a great gift for a young naturalist or for a big car trip to visit one of these great parks.

I received a review copy of this ebook from Quarto Publishing Group - Wide Eyed Editions, and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

This is an AMAZING reference book. Beautifully illustrated with clear and succinct text, the book captures the essence of some of the most iconic and less well-known national parks in the country. The book begins with a brief introduction on "the birth" of national parks. Short but concise, no overloading historical information. Few parks are chosen from each region; the layout is well organized and easy to follow. I adore the highlights of things to appreciate from each park. Anything from animals, plants, to geographical interests, this fun picture book is filled with educational information that would appeal to both adults and children.

There are other books tailored for children about national parks but "National Parks of the USA" is more than just a regular non fiction book on nature/geographical attractions. It is a collection of artwork that supplemented by fun facts and information that helps to transform dry reading material into something delectable. Definitely a fun read and one of the best in the genre.

National Parks of the USA by Kate Siber is a visually stunning guide for young readers. It is a wonderful collection of facts and detailed  illustrations highlighting some of the more popular national parks in the United States.

The parks are divided by region and each feature includes the state, founding year, and acreage. The crisp and modern graphic design layout includes wildlife and plant species native to the area, natural phenomena, and interesting facts. It has a blurb of each national park and where it's located on the map, then features some of the more notable national parks with details and tidbits about the park's interesting features; such as, animals, plants, geologic formations, weather, and Native American history. 

This is an excellent book for young readers beginning to show an interest in nature and our national park system filled with brief but exciting descriptions and lovely artwork.

Thanks to Quarto Publishing Group, Wide Eyed Editions via NetGalley for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.