Member Reviews
I loved this book - it brought back very happy memories of trips I've made to American National Parks as well as inspiring me to plan more travel.
I really liked the way there was a mix of natural history and human history stories for the locations and the illustrations were incredible.
"50 True Tales from Our Great National Parks" is a beautifully illustrated book filled with captivating stories from our national parks. It would be a well loved book for nature enthusiasts and also would make a lovely coffee table book that both adults and children would enjoy looking at and reading.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for a copy of this book in exchange for honest feedback. I read a digital copy of this title on a tablet.
First and foremost, I think the highlight of this book is its beautiful imagery. The illustrations resemble watercolor painting style, and they're very evocative and have a strong resemblance to the essence of each park. I really liked the range of included parks and landmarks. There are 63 parks and 50 were represented with either 1-2 pages of image and a few paragraphs of text. I think this book would be good for advanced elementary to middle grade readers. The images are beautiful! The writing style is clear and straightforward, text doesn't over complicate the pages. Would be great for boys and girls, classrooms, science and geography classes, etc. I can recommend for this reason!
I LOVE National Parks. When I taught Fifth Grade I would have the students do projects on National Parks instead of the same state project other teachers focused on. This book is an engaging way to teach children about parks but it is not solely for them. I was intrigued by this book. The illustrations are utterly charming and the writing is lyrical.
I cannot wait to add this to my school library but I also think it would be a great addition to my home library. I wish all 63 parks were included but I understand page constraints.
Thank you to Quarto Publishing Group- Wide Eyed Editions and Net Galley for the eARC!
Fascinating! I loved the details and the beautiful pictures. It was an easy book to get lost in and perfect for kids and adults alike! Seriously, so much fun. The stories were intriguing and it was fun to read about places that I’ve been to!
WOW! Our family loves national parks, and this book is such a delight for kids. A great book to own. We'll be purchasing this for sure!
Fun way to see and learn about our national parks. The illustrations are great. A few things bothered me about this book and that is the order was chaotic, I was hoping to either have it organized alphabetically by NP name or by state. It wasn’t a huge deal until the label for each national park was more of a nickname/tale in bold with the NP name and state, not in bold, underneath - again not a huge deal but for your eyes to easily glance and see what NP it is or the state. I also understand maybe some of the NP may not have a huge story worth sharing (St. Louis Arch when compared to Glacier National Park) but I did think it was odd the author lumped 13 national parks into two pages as a “oh yeah these as well” and wrote how they were limited with space in the book - not sure just seemed odd to me.
I received this as an ARC from NetGalley for an honest review.
I don't know why but I've always been sort of interested in national parks, I suppose being in Ireland it's not a common conception. I really enjoyed learning about US National Parks with both a brief history and a story included for each and I loved the illustrations
50 True Tales From Our Great National Parks
Stephanie Pearson, Madeline Kloepper (illustrator)
Each of the National Parks is unique and each one has true and fascinating stories. Among the parks are Yellowstone, Glacier Bay, Grand Canyon, Hawaii Volcanoes, Smoky Mountains, Yosemite, virgina Islands, Acadia, Denali, Everglades, etc. The stories cover a number of items such as: plants, natural features like waterfalls, events, animals, the founding, conservation, nature and communities.
I’ve visited a few of the National Parks and personally witnessed the beautiful treasures they have to offer. I’ve visited Mammoth Cave several times, there is an moving tale of a Black American that explored and guided people through the vast cave system. Glacier Bay is famous for the humpback whales that execute an unbelievable dance through the cold waters. The Redwood National Park is known for the beautiful Redwoods that have endured flames, fungi and creatures. Badlands National Park tells the story of a little girl that found a fossil. Yellowstone tells the story of the return of the wolves. Isle Royale National Park tells the story of four lighthouses, the keepers that keep the light burning to protect the passing sailors.
Whether you are planning a trip to one of the National Parks or not you will enjoy the stories behind the parks. The watercolor illustrations bring the parks to life and demonstrate the beauty and the wonder of the National Parks.
Thank you NetGalley for a copy of this book for review.
I received a free copy of, 50 True Tales from Our Great National Parks, by Stephanie Pearson, from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This is a really enjoyable book, with great illustrations, about our great national parks, and stories about them. From Alaska, to South Dakota, to Hawaii, and everywhere in between. I learned so much about our beautiful and great national parks,
I love this book. I love National Parks. I have been on many trips to visit the parks but know I won’t make it to all of them. This book did a great job giving you a taste of what the parks are like. Informative and entertaining.
This book is absolutly incredible from the layout to the stories to the illustrations. I will 100% be buying a physical copy of this when I can! I read several of the stories to my toddler and he was completely immersed in the stories and loved looking at the illustrations. As a family we visit many national parks so this book will be a welcome addition to our home library. The writing is easy to understand for younger children but also entertaining for adults as well.
The stories were short and sweet. Just enough details to keep you focused. It was nice to hear of some of the parks for the first time like isle royale in Michigan. We ended up looking it up and adding it to our future adventures list. Learning facts like the name change to Denali National Park.
The artwork was delightful and placed well.
WOW! This book has lovely illustrations and is packed with fascinating stories! It would probably be too much to read through in one sitting for most kids, but you could easily get through a handful of parks every time. The glossary in the back is a nice touch too.
I really liked how the facts were woven into the stories so seemlessly so you are learning something while still feeling like your reading any good story. The illustrations not only give a backdrop but also add to the story. Overall this is just a beautiful book that I can't wait to add to my library's children's room.
WOW! This book is wonderful! It is packed FULL of SO many stories that tie into each of the parks. The stories are told so well, I could imagine reading them right before bed as the child enjoys all the pictures that go along with it. On top of that it is educational and yet because it is told in stories the child will not even know they are learning, while being entertained. I think a fun idea would also be to read the story in the book and then visit that national park! How fun would that be?! I loved this book and would totally recommend it to others.
We are not based in the US and this book did two things for us; allow us to travel to some of the most beautiful parts of the US and the world, and inspire us for our future travels.
Such a well-executed idea with a great colour palette, illustrations, facts and tales about the US national parks. The variety of the parks features is a bonus.
The artwork is my favorite part of this book. The illustrations are absolutely beautiful. There are stories and facts about each National Park. This is educational and a great read for people of all ages. It helps us learn about wonderful things that are in our country.
I appreciate NetGalley and the publisher for allowing me to read this book in exchange for a review.