Stringbean's Trip to the Shining Sea

Title: Stringbean's Trip to the Shining Sea

Authors: Vera B. Williams and Jennifer Williams

Published by:Greenwillow Books

     

Stringbean's Trip to the Shining Sea by Vera B. Williams and Jennifer Williams is a realistic and imaginative children's story. I just love this book, the format is a scrapbook that chronicles the road trip Stringbean and his brother take to the Pacific Ocean from their home in Kansas. The amusing text is written in the form of postcards the brothers send to family members as they make their way to their destination. The illustrations are unique, and are "photographs" and colorful postcards displaying Stringbean's experiences in a fun and personal way. As the reader I felt as if I was actually looking at someone's scrapbook and as the story progresses I felt  like a family member he was sending the postcards to. As well as being entertaining, the book is a useful geography tool for children, allowing them to travel the journey on a map as the brother's make their way across country. A great way to explore and use map directional words for a social studies lesson.