Go, Go America

Yaccarino, Dan. 2008. Go, Go America: 50 States of Fun. Scholastic.

Want fun facts on all fifty states? Like the nostalgically wacky art of Dan Yaccarino? Then you'll enjoy Go, Go America. Meet the Farley family, they're your guides on this one-of-a-kind road trip. What kinds of facts? Well, a little bit of everything. State nicknames, manufacturing facts, intriguing 'firsts', weird laws, etc. But a few of these may just surprise you!

You may not throw a bad pickle in the street in Trenton (17)
It is illegal to tickle a girl in Norton, Virginia (23)
It Atlanta it is illegal to tie a giraffe to a telephone pole or a streetlight (26)
In Ohio, it is illegal to fish for whales on Sunday! (39)
In Pine Island, Minnesota, it is illegal for a man to pass a cow without tipping his hat (44)

Of course, that's only the beginning. There's a nice blend of informative and useful information and informative and good old-fashioned weird. Of course reading books like this make me skeptical. I'd love 'proof' that all these wacky laws exist (or have existed). And you won't find a footnote in this one. I think foot notes are rare in books like this. That's not to say the author didn't do research. But many of his sources are trivia books. And if I were to go to those trivia books would I just be pointed to earlier trivia books?

It's a fun little book. A quick read too. A book that is ideal for browsing. It's far from boring, that's for sure!

© Becky Laney of Becky's Book Reviews