Non-Fiction: Picture Book
Miller, Debbie S. Big Alaska: Journey Across America’s Most Amazing State. Illust. by Jon Van Zyle. Walker & Co., 2006. Unp. Upper Elementary and Middle school
This thoughtful, informative book is about Alaska as seen from the vantage point of an eagle flying over it. Starting with Admiralty Island, he flies through the Tongass to Glacier Bay then up to Prince William Sound then the Matanuska Valley, Anchorage, Kenai, Kodiak Island, Katmai, the Yukon River, the Kuskoquim, Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, Denali, and other places. Told in the third person narrated view, this book has the theme of the geography of Alaska with some history thrown in. Text is accompanied by lovely oil paintings by Jon Van Zyle.
AK: Alaskan geography, places, and history
Activities: Have the children trace the path the eagle flew on a large map of Alaska. Ask if anyone of them have been to these places? Which ones? Which would they like to see? ( )

I picked this book up while in Alaska this summer. My neighbors love it, as allows them to visit Alaska without actually going there. I liked this book. The main theme or point of the book is to introduce the reader to the major nature spots in Alaska. It is a large book to help with the illusion.

I liked the book. For example, as an informational book, I found the text to be simple and too the point. Each page had just enough information without being overly dry. It also included latitude and longitude lines, which I think is interesting.

The illustrations are also very detailed. For example, the picture of the the eagle in the tree with the snow made me actually feel like I had seen the eagle on a winter's day. Overall, I find this to be an enjoyable book. ( )

I absolutely loved looking through Big Alaska: Journey Across America's Most Amazing State. As someone who has lived there, my heart stopped as I took in the pictures and words of the wetlands I once stood within. Knowing the vast immensity of just that one region, it was an absolute joy to explore the other pages, seeing parts of Alaska where there are actually trees! Something I missed living on the tundra where even bushes were scarce. The paintings are beautiful and the information just enough to give a brief sense of what Alaska truly encompasses, though it is a very small taste. Such a large state with so many different areas, cultures, and ethnicities, even a full blown encyclopedia could not give but a small taste of what it means to live there. However, all that said and done, Big Alaska is a wonderful book I would use in any level of class to try and explain to my students where I lived and what it was like up there. ( )