Learning About New York City

The last time I did a review for By the Way, it was for their book on Florida.  It was a perfect fit for this east coast family who lived in Florida for several years.  We are back to the By the Way Book Series and this time around we got to review New York City- By the Way.  Pretty perfect since we have a NYC loving daughter who has gone twice and will try to get anyone she knows to go with her again.

 Ironically she is at school finishing up her senior year, so her youngest brother, age 11, and I have gotten to read this cool book before her- shhhh, don't tell!

The By the Way book series has an ever growing title collection including Ireland, Alaska, Indiana, Colorado and more.  These books are indeed a story, following Alex and Lexi on an adventure to a specific location, but they are also so much more.  Each book is packed full with information; the newest ones even more so than before.  Inside each hardback book you will find geography, history, science and more.  Each page has engaging color pictures to hold the interest of younger children, but the facts you will learn are perfect for your whole family.

Within each book, written by author Joy Budensiek, is the intent to teach kids about God and His world and His truth.

"Discovering Biblical Truth in Everyday Life"

Scripture is quoted often, but in a natural, conversational way.  It is way to present a Christian worldview and open up conversations with your children about God in a relaxing, non-threatening environment. 

New York City- By the Way is a 48 page book of fun!  Alex and Lexi are joined by their classmates on a three day trip to New York City with their teachers. Each day is packed with activities where they learn that, despite being in a busy city, they can still see evidences of God in nature.  While exploring they see many animals including squirrels, ducks, and pigeons. 

They also learn about turtles, coyotes. and butterflies. When trivia is mentioned throughout the book you will often find side boxes with facts about that specific thing.  Consider it a mini encyclopedia lesson!

Also included in the New York book is a whole lot of geography and history.  As the class travels to all 5 of the city's boroughs, they learn about the 175 zip codes that are there and check off as many as they can find as they explore.  They also learn about the history of each area and other neat facts.

How we used this book and what we thought of it-
Like usual, Colby (6th grade) grabbed this book and read it before I had a chance to.  This is NOT a one sitting book!  It is more like a chapter book, but without the chapters.  I think he read it over the course of a few days and he is a pretty voracious reader.  If you are using it as a read aloud, I recommend you take it in chunks- there is so much to absorb and talk about.

I did finally manage to read it on my own and did so in one sitting.  Colby had mentioned several things he thought were interesting, but it was more fun to engage him in conversation after I had read it too!  Sometimes what I find neat is not always what interests him.  Some topics we learned about include-

• The Subway System
• The Statue of Liberty
• 9/11
• Street Vendors
• Tube Mail
• Central Park
• Chinatown and Little Italy
• Fanny Crosby
• The Empire State Building
• Geo-caching
• The Bronx Zoo

Of course, this list is just the tip of the iceberg!  I told you these books were a wealth of information!

So my favorite part- hard to choose!  I loved reading about some of the older history of the city, especially about the immigrants who came by way of Ellis Island.  Did you know that in one single day in 1907, almost 12,000 immigrants were processed.  That absolutely amazes me.  Another thing that blew my mind- there are 138 languages spoken in Queens alone!  Can you just imagine what it would be like to hear even just a fraction of them all at once?  No wonder the city is so loud!

And Colby's favorite parts?
Colby LOVED ready about Winkie! She is actually a pigeon, one of 32, that was awarded the Dickin Medal for serving in WWII.  When the ship she was on went down in the North Sea, Winkie flew 120 miles back to her owner and is credited for saving the lives of all the men on the ship.

He was also shocked to learn that there are 5.2 million trees in NYC, with 592,130 on city streets.  Like he said... "who knew?"
There is also a fun picture search where you find 10 pictures hidden throughout the book to entertain and challenge your younger kids.  It might be a way to help keep them engaged if the story gets a bit long for them.

Whether you are a unit study kind of mom, a history and geography fact kid, or just looking to add beautifully illustrated books that teach God's word, you will love this By The Way book series!  The only problem- choosing which one to start with!