From Sea to Shining sea this book takes you on a creative and informative journey through America. Through the book is a impressive blend of poetry, geography, art and history. While not every state is represented there is a good representation of different places both old and new that will help students learn and appreciate some unique beauty found in the U.S. There are some well-known destinations like Niagara Falls in New York and the Golden Gate Bridge in California there are some unique things like Lusy the Elephant in Margate, New Jersey and Bristlecone Pines in Nevada. This book offers a unique way to learn more about places in America thought the creative poetry in this book. One example I love is Mount Washington, New Hampshire where the author and illustrator paint a vivid picture of the power and beauty of the highest peak in the Northeastern United States and is known for its dramatic weather. This book offers a wonderful blend of poetry and art to bring the reader on an adventurous journey through many destinations in America.

In my opinion, “Tour America: A Journey Through Poems and Art” is a good book for older children because it emphasizes the important landmarks in the United States through poetry and art. Even though there is not a storyline, one of the qualities that I like about this book is that the poetry goes into detail about why each location is important to that particular state. One of the examples is Mount Rushmore, which is located in South Dakota. The poem is on the page with a little side-note showing the state and more information about the landmark. Another quality of the book I enjoyed was the illustrations by Stephen T. Johnson. They are extremely detailed and each landmark is drawn or created in a different way. Mount Rushmore is a painting of the landmark, while Las Vegas is a collage of what this landmark represents. The poetry and the art pieces bring out the importance of each landmark in the United States and where the landmark is located within the state. The big idea of this book is that children understand the poetry expressed through and about the different landmarks that are extremely significant within the United States. ( )

I really like the concept of this book of mixing landmarks or interesting places with poetry and the fact that the author spent 10 years exploring the U.S. on a motorcycle! The opening pages show a map of the U.S. with all the landmarks mentioned in the book- a great way to explore the U.S. with students! The illustrations accompanying the poems are beautiful, and I like the additional information about each site in the inserted text boxes. I have never been to many of the states mentioned but now I want to. I loved the book- very inventive. ( )

A lovely collection of poems on some famous American landmarks, accompanied by artwork by Stephen Johnson (of "Alphabet City" fame. ) Students will enjoy the story behind the book as much as the poetry: Siebert write the poems, and the accompanying snippets of information on the famous places described in verse, while on a 10-year motorcycle journey across the country. ( )

I actually really liked this book because it allows you to travel the world without actually traveling. The illustrations are very detailed and fun to look at. Instead of it being a story book, it's written in poems. Each page is a different place or person and a poem is written about it. I could think of a lot of lessons that teachers can use regarding this book. Students can research a place or a monument and share what they learned with the class. This way, students can learn different things from their peers and also have a chance to research something they may be interested in. The poem's were my favorite because it made the book different and also very catchy.