Hello, Florida! from Applewood Books: Review

Florida feels like the girls' second home. Rose and Beth were both born in Florida and my husband's parents live there. We visit the state a couple of times a year and the girls have enjoyed many of the sites in South Florida, but it is such a big state and there are so many other places for them to learn about!

Hello, Florida! by Martha Day Zschock is a fun board book all three of my girls fell in love with! I'm always happy when something I have for Grace gets my other girls excited. She is in preschool so I don't usually expect her books and activities to engage her sisters. This was one of those times and Grace's older sisters took great pleasure in reading this story to her! 

The first time I read this to Grace her sisters were working on their lessons. I figured they wouldn't be interested in their sister's new board book, so I didn't think about reading it to all of them. Imagine my surprise, when I suddenly realized they had come up behind us and were reading over my shoulder. They really enjoyed seeing what the alligator tour guides told about Florida next.

Grace asked her sister just today, "Will you read to me?" I love that the girls enjoy reading to their youngest sister and it's a fun way for them to practice oral story telling. So many different areas of Florida are represented in this short book. Florida is a diverse state, so much more than just the beaches and amusement parts normally remembered. The diversity of the land is well represented. The beautiful illustrations capture the imagination and once again the girls asked if we could visit the areas mentioned the next time we visit. 

My favorite pages were about the Everglades, the area we lived in when Beth and Rose were born. We used to count the alligators in the canals created in the Everglades as we traveled to and from our town, but none were as cute as the two in this book! They are so sweet and made for excellent tour guides. 

Whether you are visiting Florida for the amusements, the history, the beautiful nature, or because you have family there, this will be a fun book to take along with you. Perhaps you're studying through various states around our country. This would make a fabulous addition as would many of the other books in the series. The detailed pictures make it fun to read over and over and will give even your youngest travelers a sense of what is in store for them!

Disclaimer: I received Hello, Florida!  from Applewood Books in return for an honest review. I was not required to write a positive review. This is my own opinion.