You guys, we live in a pretty awesome country. That’s the thought that kept occurring to me as I did my pre-publication reviews of the books in the Our Great States series (cover pictured). These books will go on sale just in time for the fall 2014 school year.

The Our Great States titles mention so many fun things that I want to see, try, and do in this fantastic country of ours! I started keeping a list as I was doing my reviews, because so many things caught my eye—like:

• Visiting the Luling City Market in Houston, Texas, where they have pinto beans, pecan pie (people, this is one of my all-time faves), and what are, reputedly, Texas-size brownies. (A chocolate treat as big as Texas? How can you possibly go wrong?)

• Going to Wisconsin Dells to ride the water slides in its more than twenty—that’s right, more than twenty!—indoor and outdoor water parks. Okay, I probably couldn’t hit all twenty+, but I think I could cover at least half. I do love water parks.

• Traveling to Florida’s Sanibel Island to spend an afternoon in flip-flops collecting seashells on the beach. I’d round out my day by picnicking in the sand and watching the sun set over the ocean.

In addition to state highlights like these, each Our Great States book features two maps, a state flag (plus a link to Lerner eSource, where students can go to learn more about the flag), a Facts section—including info on the state’s flower, capital, natural resources, and more—a glossary, and a Further Information section. I couldn’t be more excited to offer these books to students in the fall of 2014!