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Discover America State By State
B Is for Blue Crab: A Maryland Alphabet
Located just below the Mason-Dixon line, Maryland is flavored with both northern and southern culture and tradition. Defined by the largest estuary in the United States (The Chesapeake Bay), Maryland's historic sites/sights include capital city Annapolis and the U.S. Naval Academy, Muddy Creek Falls, and the running of the Preakness Stakes in Baltimore. Noteworthy residents include Harriet Tubman and Francis Scott Key.
Shirley C. Menendez grew up in Staunton, Virginia, and graduated from Mary Baldwin College. She earned a master's degree in library science from Drexel University. Before joining the administrative staff of Georgetown University, she was a librarian in the Prince George's County Memorial Library System in Maryland and the Westchester Library System in New York. Shirley lives in Gaithersburg, Maryland, with her husband, who is also a writer.
Laura Stutzman graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, and in 1984 formed a studio called Eloqui with her husband, illustrator Mark Stutzman. She has created imagery for books and magazines, corporations, non-profit organizations, and privately commissioned portraits. Laura teaches a weeklong camp each year for children grades 8 through 12 who are serious about art. She makes her home in Mountain Lake Park, Maryland.
Shirley C. Menendez grew up in Staunton, Virginia, and graduated from Mary Baldwin College. She earned a master's degree in library science from Drexel University. Before joining the administrative staff of Georgetown University, she was a librarian in the Prince George's County Memorial Library System in Maryland and the Westchester Library System in New York. Shirley lives in Gaithersburg, Maryland, with her husband, who is also a writer.
Laura Stutzman graduated from the Art Institute of Pittsburgh, and in 1984 formed a studio called Eloqui with her husband, illustrator Mark Stutzman. She has created imagery for books and magazines, corporations, non-profit organizations, and privately commissioned portraits. Laura teaches a weeklong camp each year for children grades 8 through 12 who are serious about art. She makes her home in Mountain Lake Park, Maryland.
40 pages, Hardcover
First published September 22, 2004
8 people are currently reading
59 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
February 7, 2017
Review to come.
May 30, 2019
Beautifully illustrated and very well done.
May 3, 2012
B is for Blue Crab by Shirley Menendez is an Alphabet book all about the state of Maryland. Each page has a letter (A-Z). Each letter states a fact or a thing in Maryland. Such as letter A is Annapolis and letter B is blue crab, letter U is Johnny Unitas and letter Z is Maryland Zoo. Each letter comes with a four line rhyme about each thing. And on the side of the page it gives the history and the facts about each subject.
The age group for this book, in my opinion, is intermediate. I do not believe children who are younger will be able to understand what a blue crab is or who Johnny Unitas is. Nor do I believe a younger child will be able to learn all of these facts and understand them.
The book is filled with beautiful painted pictures of each subject. It is extremely colorful and the words are very easy to read.
I would recommend this book. I enjoyed this book so much I would probably read it over again myself. I enjoyed that it rhymed but also had facts about the state I am from. This book is definitely nonfiction and I would most certainly read this with my students. At the very end of the book it has a quiz about the things that the reader would've read inside the book and it has the answers upside down on the following page.
The age group for this book, in my opinion, is intermediate. I do not believe children who are younger will be able to understand what a blue crab is or who Johnny Unitas is. Nor do I believe a younger child will be able to learn all of these facts and understand them.
The book is filled with beautiful painted pictures of each subject. It is extremely colorful and the words are very easy to read.
I would recommend this book. I enjoyed this book so much I would probably read it over again myself. I enjoyed that it rhymed but also had facts about the state I am from. This book is definitely nonfiction and I would most certainly read this with my students. At the very end of the book it has a quiz about the things that the reader would've read inside the book and it has the answers upside down on the following page.
November 27, 2021
Perfect for children and adults. There is a poem for each letter and a couple paragraphs that detail the history of what the letter focuses on. Even as a Marylander, I learned some things about our state. I'd love to check out the other books and learn about the states in a creative and fun way.
March 7, 2020
MD is a great state, Maryland is not that far away from VA ... so awesome!! way cool. must read.
May 24, 2021
A Maryland alphabet.
September 4, 2015
I only subtract one star for a perfect picture book in that it is an alphabet book, used for learning the alphabet, but it is extremely off on reading comprehension and age range. I think it's rather dry and far too long to read to preschoolers.
August 10, 2011
pictures, history, facts, information and ideals about maryland
February 14, 2014
It's a good elementary level reader about the state, a a decent starting point for a middle level reader for research topics.
June 11, 2016
I actually learned a few things about Maryland (in which I have lived my entire life) that I did not know before.
May 5, 2019
Beautiful artwork and a great mini-history of the state.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews