This book uses Maryland related places, animals, and objects to represent each letter of the alphabet. The pages include informational text in addition to the alphabet.

I liked this book for many reasons. The thing I like most about this book is that it contains both nonfiction information and poetry on every page. For every letter of the alphabet, information and a short poem are given, along with illustrations. The illustrations are very detailed and allow the reader to see exactly what the information is referring to. The book focuses mainly on landmarks in Maryland. If the reader has never visited these places, they are able to clearly see what the information is focusing on. The information is accurate and current. The amount of information is appropriate for the audience. I don’t think the amount of text on each page is overwhelming. I think the text includes a good amount of statistics. If a younger reader is struggling with the paragraphs, they could just focus on the poems on each page and be just as engaged in the text. I believe the big idea of this book is that there are many different parts to the state of Maryland. There are a lot of important historical events and a lot of important current events. I think the purpose behind this book is to show readers how diverse and interesting the state is. ( )

I found this book to be absolutely stellar. The language used in this book varies of which section is being read. The first section includes detailed expository text for older children, while the second section includes simple facts that rhyme for younger children. For example, “H stands for Historic battles, where brave soldiers led the fight during the American Civil War for what they believed was right.” The section meant for older children contains two paragraphs describing historic battles that occurred in Maryland. The writing in this piece, once again varies, yet but sections are organized by alphabetical order. The first section contains no less than five sentences, while the second section contains two sentences at most. This text has no characters as its purpose is to inform and not to entertain through anything more than facts and is also told from the third person point of view. While the plot is organized, there is no climax or conflict as it is once again simply and playfully sharing just the facts. Laura Stutzman’s illustrations are a wonderful addition to this book. These pictures not only enhance the author’s words, but also provide a unique and yet general depiction of what is being described. For example, when describing Camden Yards, a young boy with a baseball is seen admiring the statue of a baseball player outside of the entrance to Camden Yards. Both sections in this text are appealing to readers, the first section is best suited for readers who are truly looking to learn about the topic, while the second section is simple and playful to keep the attention of younger readers while teaching them about current and accurate information. This text pushes readers to explore the history of their state, which in this case, is Maryland. The main idea for this text would have to be that each state is unique! ( )

In my opinion, the book "B is for Blue Crab" by Shirley Menendez is an amazing book for young readers and to have in a Maryland classroom. As a resident and future teacher of Maryland, I would love to have this book in my classroom for many reasons. First, I like the fact that it includes history, important people, and facts about the state of Maryland. For example, one page reads: "Fort Frederick begins with the letter F. It was built with a strong stone wall. During the French and Indian War is provided shelter for all." This is probably something that young students wouldn't know about Maryland unless they live near there, but may be interested in learning about some of Maryland's past. I also like how to each page has a side bar with additional information about what is mentioned for each letter. The N page says, "N stands for the U.S. Naval Academy, where students in uniform look so grand as they train to be sailors and midshipmen and prepare to defend our homeland." On the side of this page, there is more information about the Naval Academy like when it was founded, the attractions it holds for visitors, famous people who went there, and mentions its infamous Chapel. I also liked the life-like illustrations that seem to be hand painted and full of color. Not only does this make the book visually appealing, it makes the book much more realistic and helps the reader understand the information on each page. The big idea of the story is to teach children about different historical landmarks, attractions, features, and facts about the state of Maryland, while going through the alphabet. ( )

In my opinion, this is a great book. Since I was born and raised in Maryland I thought it was really neat to read about the different history, landmarks, and other things associated with my home state. One aspect of this book that I thought was really special was the two different stories in this book; the two different fonts and consistent locations on each page distinguished between the two. One “story” was simple rhymes about each letter’s topic that younger children would be interested in, and the rhyme was located directly on the illustration with larger font. The other “story” was very a very detailed, expository text for older children; this chunk of text was located on the colored border of the page and smaller font was used. I really liked how one book could entertain two different age groups simultaneously. A child would be able to read or understand the rhyme but then grow older and be able to understand and read the detailed text, too. I also enjoyed the oil-like illustrations on each page. Sometimes one letter would take up both pages and the illustration would cross the gutter, whereas other times there would be one letter on the left and another on the right. Regardless of that, each illustration was very vivid and portrayed each topic beautifully. I also love when informational books have “extensions” for readers to take part in and this book had a “quiz/questionnaire” at the end to see what the readers learned. In terms of content, I thought it was very creative how sometimes the topic discussed on each page, did not necessarily directly match to the letter. For example, the letter X page had the rhyme, “X stands for X-rays which you can get at Johns Hopkins Hospital where medical needs are met.” Thus the X page does not discuss something that starts with the letter X. I thought this was really neat. All in all, I really liked this book! The big idea of this book is to learn about different aspects of Maryland in a creative way. ( )