The United States in 100 Words

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Pub Date 17 Sep 2019 | Archive Date 17 Oct 2019

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Description

How do you sum up a whole country in just 100 words? This striking book takes on the challenge! From amendment to Vegas, each of the carefully chosen 100 words has its own 100-word-long description and beautiful illustration, providing a snapshot of what the USA means to people today: its roots, its values, its culture, and customs. Basically, everything you need to know in a nut shell.

Along with some expected words, such as liberty and constitution, you'll also find less predictable words that will give you a fresh perspective. With speech, learn about the right to freedom of speech enshrined in the First Amendment. Through Rosa, learn about the civil rights movement and the African American woman who became one its icons by refusing to give up her bus seat. With words like hamburger, Manhattan, blues, freedom, Hollywood, immigrant, protest, superhero, Moon, Texas, and Washington, gain perspective on the many facets of American culture.

Finally, you'll be asked, “If you were to choose the 100 words, which would you pick?”
How do you sum up a whole country in just 100 words? This striking book takes on the challenge! From amendment to Vegas, each of the carefully chosen 100 words has its own 100-word-long description...

Available Editions

EDITION Other Format
ISBN 9780711242432
PRICE US$19.95 (USD)
PAGES 112

Average rating from 23 members


Featured Reviews

I loved the concept of this book. I have several issues though. Maybe the entire book did not download correctly but my ARC ended with YOUNG and I did not see anything after that. Also, for the most part this book was alphabetical but not completely. That seemed weird. There were a TON of typos in the CONTENTS page. One example is Neighborhood (spelled Neighburhood) in contents. Then on the page itself, the title is NEIGHBOURHOOD but within the text it is spelled correctly as neighborhood. I Really did like the concept though and if all the mistakes were corrected I would seriously consider buying this for my elementary library.

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A survey course of American social studies in a single picture book.

An inviting cover design and colorful, informative illustrations invite readers to browse the book from the very first glance. A detailed table of contents lists page numbers for each topic making it an easy reference for specific information. The United States in 100 Words addresses various themes such as American symbols (turkey, baseball, barbecue) government (suffrage, borders, speech) and patriotism (citizenry, volunteer). While not extensive, the information appeals to different readers from elementary students to older students and even adults needing to brush up on their civic knowledge.

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A thoughtful, heartfelt look at the US through a wide range of ideas emphsasizing inclusiveness, diversity, and the celebration of differences. I can't really give very helpful feedback since a lot of the illustrations were missing and those would be significant here. Seems like a great classroom book.

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An extensive a-z list that incorporates jeverything the uS should be proud of. Beautifully illustrated and perfect for a little one as a gift.

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This book offers up some thoughts about the U.S. There are multiple entries for each letter of the alphabet, running the gamut from baseball to slavery. The book reflects the author's wish to paint the country in broad strokes. Each entry includes an illustration and some thoughts about what is being pictured. This is a modern book that reflects the current state of the country.

4/5 stars ****

Note: The formatting of the e galley that I received seemed to have some layout errors that I am sure will be corrected for the print book. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this book in exchange for an honest review.

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When I was a kid, we had a big hardcover book called, "Our Fifty States". I don't know who published it, or where it ended up, but I have vivid memories of that book. I poured through it, time and again so that I could learn about our country. This book reminds me of that one. It's appealing to kids and has plenty of information many adults may not remember as well. It would make a great addition to an elementary classroom, or gift to a family with children.

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The United States in 100 Words was a fun and short way to learn a little bit about the United States. Fun and brightly coloured illustrations paired with informative captions make this book a fun and easy way to learn. I’d love to see more of these for other countries or cities.

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This could be a really useful workbook for the elementary social studies classroom. It provides a list of 100 words of cultural, historical, and geographical significance to the United States (these include things like Congress, Elvis, suffrage, and Yellowstone). Each word is accompanied by an illustration and brief explanation of each. This is certainly not an exhaustive list, but I liked what was chosen, and it would be good for new learners. The book ends with a timeline of significant events, a map of the United States, and a glossary of key terms.

All in all, a cute beginning student workbook. Thank you to NetGalley and The Quarto Group for giving me the opportunity to review this copy in exchange for an honest review.

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Compact and to the point, yet rich in detail and illustrations, I got utterly absorbed in this book that achieves what it says on the cover - start conversations, spark inspiration.

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This book gives a pictorial introduction to American culture. The pictures are nice, but there's a lot of white space on each page, and the text is very small. I'm also wondering about the thinking behind the book's organizational scheme. At first, I thought it was somewhat chronological, but then I spotted items in places that broke that pattern. I also feel for poor Hawaii--in my copy, it's omitted from the U.S. map!

Overall, this book is fairly average. Three stars.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me a review copy of this book, which will be available for purchase on September 17th.

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Disclaimer I received a copy of this as an ARC from NetGalley.

This book is a great primer on United States history, current events, social justice issues, government, civics and geography. The words chosen to represent the United States were definitely chosen very thoughtfully and deliberately. I felt there could be an in for every interest a child might have about the United States. The definitions and descriptions were accessible on multiple levels for multiple learners. The illustrations partnered beautifully with the information. I also thought providing websites and other resources for further info quite good. I could see this book also being a great resource for teachers and educators.

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Being in the Uk I liked this book. We’ve all heard the words associated with America but what’s behind them. This book explains it clearly. Loved the colourful pictures. However, I also feel you could do two additions. One with the artwork which kids love. A second with photographs to appeal to the older reader.

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Essentially just a glossary. I don't see this getting much interest. Could be used in a curriculum for social studies.

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From Pioneer to Plains to Pacific, this book patriotically tries to sum up the USA in a hundred paragraphs. It makes a good fist of it, and you see how each entry has had a bearing on the culture, the politics or society, or even the nature of all that makes up the country. It would be awkward if the artwork wasn't great – the pictures are very much to the fore, and the text a little small in relation, being as you get a strict paragraph for each of the hundred words – but the design is strong in this one. So, as I imply, is the self-love, this is full of "we" and "us" and "here", so it's not a book that will travel. It also continues the rather blind love for the Constitution, and while it does admit that that came about because the Articles of Confederation were not fit for purpose, it then goes right to the Amendments, to ignore the fact the Constitution was not fully fit for purpose either. "You don't always get everything exactly right on the first try" it says – no, nor the second, clearly. Still, for all those Mrs Godfreys, teaching a primer in social studies, this will be a welcome book.

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This is a very good idea to choose a subject related to America and describe it in 100 words. the book is very consistent with itsstyle of a catchy picture about three fourths of the page and then the description. great way of getting kids to read history.

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This book is exactly what it claims to be, 100 words to describe The United States, with an illustration to go with each word as well as a short blurb. Most of the words focus on the history of the U.S, although there were quite a few that I personally would not have chosen but it is still interesting. A lot of the illustrations also weren't to my personal taste but they do their job. For what it is, it delivers what it promises.

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The United States in 100 Words, authored by Nancy Dickmann and illustrated by Paul Boston, is a enjoyable children’s book which is so engrossing, they will learn about nature, industry, history, government, culture, American values, and the mathematical concept of 100, before they realize it. Icons at the top of each page show which category or categories that topic draws from (besides math, which permeates every page).
The concept of the book is based on 100. One hundred words were chosen to represent America, words like Plains, Canyon, Vegas, Prohibition, Woodstock, Volunteer, and Rosa (Parks). Each of these 100 words has its own page, and that word is described in – you guessed it – one hundred words. The descriptions are therefore concise and not overwhelming. Each of the main 100 words has its own large illustration.
Dickmann herself acknowledges that the words she chose to represent our country are a reflection of who she is and her personal experiences, although she did try to reach outside of that realm, as well as into the future and back at history to get a list that would represent all Americans.
Resources in the back of the book include a Timeline, a map of the United States with all 50 states labeled, a short glossary, a short index, and a list of references where more information can be found.
Much can be learned from this book. If you have a child who loves to soak up facts, this is a sponge waiting to be squeezed out in a delightful way.

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Thanks to NetGalley and Quarto Publishing Group – words & pictures for The United States in 100 Words by Nancy Dickmann. This is an interesting summary of the US from fun words like baseball, jeans, and hamburger, to more serious words like prohibition, suffrage, and vote. The words are listed mostly in alphabetical order, but not entirely. And the words are quite varied and provide a wide perspective of the United States.

Each word comes with a paragraph explaining how it applies. This book is full of great facts, such as: The US has more than 100,000 libraries, in “1873 Levi Strauss obtained the patent for a style of durable cotton pants” that are now the wardrobe staple of jeans, and that the Mississippi River is 2,340 miles long from Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico. This is a fun and interesting read.

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This is a fantastic read. My own children, the children in my class and I loved it. It had so many great facts some of which we knew a little about, and some which we'd never heard of before. Each description was just the right length too proving to be informative and enough to whet the appetite yet never bore the reader. I'd love a hard back copy of this for my class room book shelves. It's a book that I will refer to again and again in the future and will highly recommend it to my students, friends and colleagues alike. It's a great idea for a book too!!

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