Books -- reading and writing.
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And whatever connections I can make between these chapters of my life.

Sunday, July 23, 2017

Road Trip! (Reading Books Across 50 States)

A few years ago when I was still a school librarian, the 4th grade teacher and I had this great idea. The students were doing reports on their chosen state. Why not read a novel set in that state?

Great! I said.

Then I realized I had to find books suitable for lots of states that weren't very well-represented in middle-grade novels.

A fun but time-consuming project.

Now, look at this!

50 States


Somebody else did all the work. 

There are a few under-represented states (Hello, Arkansas! May I suggest a book called MAKING FRIENDS WITH BILLY WONG?)

But I can see this being an excellent starting place for some really fun books.

(I wish there were a way to suggest titles because a few have already come to mind.) 

UPDATE: Thanks to my commenter, Ramona, for the additional links. 
Here's one from NEA:  http://www.nea.org/grants/50-state-booklist.html

And this, which has some additional, very interesting links for teachers and writers: 
http://wrappedinfoil.com/

New update alert! I found another list (via a Facebook memory of my own. This must be a topic I'm quite interested in).
:)

https://qwiklit.com/2013/07/24/50-states-50-novels-a-literary-tour-of-the-united-states-2/