Twinkie, Deconstructed: My Journey to Discover How the Ingredients Found in Processed Foods Are Grown, Mined (Yes, Mined), and Manipulated Into What America Eats
Average customer rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • does your homework for you
  • You are what you eat
  • Would make better television.
  • Fun and Follies with Food Facts
  • Eat your Twinkies and be happy
Twinkie, Deconstructed: My Journey to Discover How the Ingredients Found in Processed Foods Are Grown, Mined (Yes, Mined), and Manipulated Into What America Eats
Steve Ettlinger
Manufacturer: Hudson Street Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1594630186
Release Date: 2007-03-01

Book Description

A pop-science journey into the surprising ingredients found in dozens of common packaged foods, using the Twinkie label as a guide

Like most Americans, Steve Ettlinger eats processed foods. And, like most consumers, he often reads the ingredients label—without a clue as to what most of it means. So when his young daughter asked, “Daddy, what's polysorbate 60?” he was at a loss—and determined to find out.

From the phosphate mines in Idaho to the corn fields in Iowa, from gypsum mines in Oklahoma to the vanilla harvest in Madagascar, Twinkie, Deconstructed is a fascinating, thoroughly researched romp of a narrative that demystifies some of the most common processed food ingredients—where they come from, how they are made, how they are used—and why. Beginning at the source (hint: they're often more closely linked to rock and petroleum than any of the four food groups), we follow each Twinkie ingredient through the process of being crushed, baked, fermented, refined, and/or reacted into a totally unrecognizable goo or powder with a strange name—all for the sake of creating a simple snack cake.

An insightful exploration into the food industry, if you've ever wondered what you're eating when you consume foods containing mono- and diglycerides or calcium sulfate (the latter, a food-grade equivalent of Plaster of Paris) this book is for you.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars does your homework for you.......2007-10-08

"Twinkie, Deconstructed" has a cool concept: find out where EVERy ingredient on the ingredients panel of a Twinkie sponge cake comes from, whether grown or made. It turns out a lot of ingredients are mined as well.

Steve Ettlinger does an exhaustingly thorough job of research. He visits wheat fields and salt mines and LOTs of chemical plants. He reverse engineers how a Twinkie is made, even though the manufacturer declined to help him. Ettlinger maintains good cheer despite additional obstacles such as having to change names or leave out certain details due to the Home Security act.

My favorite ingredient was sodium stearoyl lactylate, because my son is allergic to milk. I had to read ingredient lists for EVERything, including bread, and sodium stearoyl lactylate was everywhere. It sounds like it has milk but I was told it does not. Confusion! Ettinger explains all: lactic acid USED to be made from sour milk but now it is made from corn syrup.

The chapter on flavorings is wonderful, including a discussion of the 216 different flavor components of natural vanilla, and how artificial vanilla has even more. I learned more about flour than I ever cared to know, but passed the info on to my daughter who likes to cook (I found out why unbleached flour is better for pizza, and bleached flour for Twinkies, for example).

I read Twinkie, Deconstructed from cover to cover. If I read it again, I might instead look up different ingredients one by one, following my curiosity. (The book's chapters are organized by ingredients and the index is available as well.) By two-thirds of the way into the book, my fingers itched to make a huge flow chart, connecting all the raw components at one end to the ways they are used in a Twinkie cake at the other end.

Ettlinger does our homework for us, showing that all those strange ingredients DO have a purpose in modern food and ARE safe to eat. He uses the Twinkie as a stand in for almost any food we buy these days in a grocery. Good job!

5 out of 5 stars You are what you eat.......2007-07-23

Especially in view of the tainted chemicals coming from China that are in our processed foods, this is a timely read.
Discover the fascinating story of what's in a Twinkie, and where it comes from.
Interesting for foodies, too.
I bought copies for a chemist friend, and for a curious friend.

2 out of 5 stars Would make better television........2007-07-20

So much potential unrealized...I thought this was going to be much better. The concept of where all the ingredients that make up a Twinkie come from make disappointingly dull reading.

Mr. Ettlinger, I see your comment here, so may I suggest a TV series? I would love to have you examine an ingredient per week and actually see the places and things you wrote about as it was hard to visualize it all...now that would be great television!

2 out of 5 stars Fun and Follies with Food Facts.......2007-07-13

Asked by his children what the ingredients in a Twinkie creme-filled cake really were, and where they came from, Steve traveled the world to find out, interviewing over a hundred people in the process. The book is well-written in the sense that it can be read very fast, and is entertaining until the number of technical errors and chemophobia intrude, which for me began on p8. I happen to enjoy processing plant and mine tours, even vicariously, and do not shy from hundreds of facts and factoids. It was fascinating to find where the biggest plants were that made the ingredients of a Twinkie, which are: wheat flour, bleach, iron(II) sulfate, vitamins B1, B2, B3, sugar, corn sweeteners, corn thickeners, water, partially hydrogenated soybean oil, lecithin and soy protein isolate, eggs, cellulose gum, whey, leavenings, baking soda, sodium acid pyrophosphate, monocalcium phosphate, salt, mono and diglycerides, polysorbate 60, natural and artificial flavors, sodium stearoyl lactylate, sodium and calcium caseinates, calcium sulfate, sorbic acid, FD&C Yellow No. 5 and Red. No. 40. All but 2 of the chapter headings follow this ingredient list. There is an inadequate index and no references, an ominous sign of what is to follow. There are no pictures or drawings, which this topic screams for. The concept was excellent, as were the metaphors. Between that and the potential entertainment value my rating would have been 5-star, even though the target audience was 12-14 years old, IMHO.

A fine appreciation of food chemistry was finally given on p258-260: "The fact that chemicals, especially those in foods, are part of nature..." Well and good, but Steve infiltrates all kinds of snide comments about "chemicals" almost everywhere else, such as one about the surprising purity of synthetic chemicals as opposed to natural (p208) -- the reverse of the truth -- that most natural chemicals are mixtures, and many synthetic ones are very pure. Part of the difficulty is that Steve does not define what a chemical is, or know the difference between an element, a compound, and a mixture, or between a rock and a mineral. Except on p173, where Steve appears to understand that the reactive and toxic elements, sodium and chlorine, react to form salt (sodium chloride), which has none of the properties of its precursors. Time after time he tries to scare the reader by implying that the toxicity of the precursors (called intermediates by chemists) somehow makes it into non-toxic products. On p261: "...try reflecting on the fact that one of the world's most lethal chemicals, chlorine, and one of the most reactive chemicals, sodium, have an exalted place...[in] the salt shaker." This, sadly, is more typical. Of course, there is no elemental sodium or chlorine in salt, and the properties of the elements do not persist in salt. And a rock should not be confused with a mineral.

So to repeat grade-school material, all substances are chemical. Dreams and electronic phenomena are not. Substances are either pure or mixtures. The smallest stable units of matter in substances are molecules. In an element, all the atoms in all the molecules are the same, except for isotopes, which still have the same chemical properties. In a compound, meaning that 2 or more elements are present in the molecule, all the molecules are alike. Sugar (sucrose) is a compound formed from a glucose and a fructose with loss of water; it is not a mixture of glucose and fructose as Steve claims (p71). A rock is a mixture of minerals. Granite is a mixture of the minerals quartz, mica and feldspar, and most minerals are well-defined compounds. Eating refined salt or calcium sulfate is not the same as eating rock. Steve wrote that the toxic and flammable element phosphorus is part of the Twinkies recipe (p154). This is nonsense. Steve never learned from a chemist to write: "phosphorus compounds, phosphates, are part of the Twinkies recipe"; no, he has to scare us and give chemicals in general a bad name on almost every page.

Steve wrote: "Ferrous sulfate is light gray with a bluish tinge, just as you'd expect an iron derivative to look" (p42). Pure iron(II) sulfate is actually pale green, just as I would expect it to look.

Steve wrote: "Despite being a mere mineral, calcium is really a so-called earth metal, like sodium...(p232). Calcium is not a mineral, because it is never found as the free element. Steve meant gypsum (calcium sulfate), I think. Calcium belongs to the family of elements called alkaline earths and sodium is in the family of alkali metals.

Whenever Steve has trouble with the chemistry of a food additive, his writing becomes very terse and flawed. From p250: "A reaction of benzene with nitric acid, itself a product of hydrogen (usually from natural gas) and nitrogen (usually from liquid air) that have been passed over over a thin platinum wire mesh, makes nitrobenzene and leads to the all-important aniline, a colorless oily liquid with a strong, pleasant odor that happens to be highly poisonous." When this is untangled, we find: (1) the reaction of hydrogen and nitrogen over a heated catalyst of iron oxide and potassium aluminate at 400 atm leads to ammonia, not nitric acid; (2) ammonia and air are heated to 650° and passed over a platinum/rhodium catalyst to make nitric acid, not nitrobenzene; (3) benzene and nitric acid with considerable sulfuric acid yields nitrobenzene; (4) nitrobenzene with iron powder or hydrogenation over nickel gives aniline; and (5) aniline does not have a pleasant odor in my nose. None of this makes much sense to a non-chemist without pictures of the molecules involved, which are sorely lacking. All the reactions are over 100 years old, so industrial secrecy should not have been an issue.

Steve fell for the myth that eating saturated fat causes hardening of the arteries (p181). See "The Cholesterol Myths" by Uffe Ravnskov, 2000; and "The Modern Nutritional Diseases" by Ottoboni.

A list of another 50 errors are available by e-mailing: kauffman@bee.net.

4 out of 5 stars Eat your Twinkies and be happy.......2007-07-07

Author Ettlinger takes the reader on a fascinating saga through the world of how food ingredients are made and how many of the ingredients in our food are actually not food-based at all, such as benzene, petroleum and rocks. Ettlinger gives us the origin of every Twinkie ingredient in a offbeat, wink-of-the eye way that suggests mirth instead of mean-spiritedness.
If you enjoy learning about scraps of knowledge that will impress your friends, this book is for you.
B is for Badger: A Wisconsin Alphabet Edition 1. (Discover America State By State. Alphabet Series)
Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
  • Great Book
  • GREAT BOOK.
B is for Badger: A Wisconsin Alphabet Edition 1. (Discover America State By State. Alphabet Series)
Kathy-jo Wargin
Manufacturer: Sleeping Bear Press
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

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ASIN: 1585361356

Book Description

The intriguing facts and faces, history and places of Wisconsin are revealed to readers young and old in B is for Badger: A Wisconsin Alphabet. From its leaders in fine arts and architecture (Georgia O'Keefe and Frank Lloyd Wright) to its pioneers in nature conservation (John Muir and Aldo Leopold), Wisconsin has been an influence on major movements in education, industry, and use of natural resources. Brought to life with lyric rhymes and expressive, original artwork, B is for Badger showcases for natives and visitors alike the splendors of Wisconsin.

Customer Reviews:

5 out of 5 stars Great Book.......2006-08-20

This book is one of a kind. Great illustrations and well written!
A must have for children in WI!

5 out of 5 stars GREAT BOOK........2004-07-01

This is a beautifully done book. It is good for little children and their older siblings (and parents) as it is written on two levels. The illustrations are wonderful.
Ciao, America!: An Italian Discovers the U.S.
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • Insightful but flawed
  • Boring book
  • See America through Italian eyes
  • Good but this is not really a funny book.
  • Fun to read!
Ciao, America!: An Italian Discovers the U.S.
Beppe Severgnini
Manufacturer: Broadway
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Paperback

Essays & TraveloguesEssays & Travelogues | Reference & Tips | Travel | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0767912365
Release Date: 2003-05-13

Book Description

In the wry but affectionate tradition of Bill Bryson, Ciao, America! is a delightful look at America through the eyes of a fiercely funny guest — one of Italy’s favorite authors who spent a year in Washington, D.C.

When Beppe Severgnini and his wife rented a creaky house in Georgetown they were determined to see if they could adapt to a full four seasons in a country obsessed with ice cubes, air-conditioning, recliner chairs, and, of all things, after-dinner cappuccinos. From their first encounters with cryptic rental listings to their back-to-Europe yard sale twelve months later, Beppe explores this foreign land with the self-described patience of a mildly inappropriate beachcomber, holding up a mirror to America’s signature manners and mores. Succumbing to his surroundings day by day, he and his wife find themselves developing a taste for Klondike bars and Samuel Adams beer, and even that most peculiar of American institutions -- the pancake house.

The realtor who waves a perfect bye-bye, the overzealous mattress salesman who bounces from bed to bed, and the plumber named Marx who deals in illegally powerful showerheads are just a few of the better-than-fiction characters the Severgninis encounter while foraging for clues to the real America. A trip to the computer store proves just as revealing as D.C.’s Fourth of July celebration, as do boisterous waiters angling for tips and no-parking signs crammed with a dozen lines of fine print.

By the end of his visit, Severgnini has come to grips with life in these United States -- and written a charming, laugh-out-loud tribute.


From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews:

3 out of 5 stars Insightful but flawed.......2007-08-26

We are not often shown what our culture looks like through the eyes of a foreigner. American culture is so prevalent these days that most people around the world try to imitate it. Almost anywhere you go, you will find a McDonald's or Pizza Hut, sometimes both. That's why I found this book to be a rare treat.

Severgnini lives in DC for a year, and writes about a lot of things that Americans take for granted being completely foreign to him. For example, buying a car from a dealership or getting his utility service turned on. It's through analysis of these seemingly mundane details of our everyday lives that he shows us how different life is for someone who is not from here. I was an immigrant as well, and a lot of what Severgnini says is very true.

This book would have gotten a higher rating from me, but I found that the tone and "Hey, this American custom is so strange!" refrain got repetitive after a while. Still, it is a worthwhile read to show us how good (or not) we Americans have it.

2 out of 5 stars Boring book.......2007-07-03

Ciao America! is Beppe Severgnini's follow-up book to Ciao Italia!
He should have quit while he was ahead. Ciao America is supposed to be a witty account of Severgnini's year spent in America. However, it's not funny, nor is it witty. The book is composed mostly of the author's day to day experiences of living in America and his wry observations of those experiences. The problem is that the book is as mundane as the author's year in America. It's not funny, it''s not witty, it's not interesting and it's not worth reading.

4 out of 5 stars See America through Italian eyes.......2007-05-01

This book was a simple, humorous De Tocqueville'esque view of America. Severgnini writes about his family's year long stay in Washington and his observations of American society, particulary in Washington. Seeing your own country from a foreigner's is impossible to do on your own, but literature like this almost lets us. It's hard at times to tell how much of Beppe's views are typically Italian or just his own idiosyncratic ways. Surprisingly there's no anti-American ranting or critiques of foreign policy in this light-hearted book.

His views on most things are right on. However, I guess that his views on the American "obsession" with Spam were based on random contacts or something, b/c I don't think too many Americans regularly eat Spam. As an international correspondent it was kind of weird listening to him get "suckered" e.g. paying sticker price for a used Ford Taurus or his difficulties with getting a mattress.

As it was written more than 10 years ago, there are some dates observations. At the end he returns 5 years after his year in the US. While it's hard to believe America really changed all that much in 5 years, he does make all too many notes about America in the 3rd Millenium that seem all too true.

This book is a very quick read and I highly recommend it for anyone curious about America viewed through non-American eyes.

5 out of 5 stars Good but this is not really a funny book........2006-09-20

Underneath the mask of humor, light-heartedness and enthusiasm, the author is just plain frustrated and let's face it, not a major fan of the US. As an European (Eastern) who has been living here for 8 years (not just one, as the author did) I found most of his observations painfully accurate. Unlike him though, who could maybe notice those things and poke light-hearted fun at them knowing that he'll be back in his gorgeous, deeply human Italy very soon, to me those things are no longer funny. They are downright depressing. I really don't see how some people thought that he was "not laughing at Americans but with Americans". Na-ha. He actually WAS laughing at Americans. The myriad absurdities, idyosincrasies and almost non-human aspects of US life are unique to this part of the world. Quite a few "new arrivals" love the lifestyle, typically if they used to be very simple, materially and socially disadvantaged people in the place where they came from. Then of course they're bound to believe that all the junk that they now can afford to buy at the cheezy mall is the equivalent of "Heaven Found At Last". If you're born here - well, you've never known anything else, case closed. But if you landed in this place thinking that along with that promissing education program or work opportunity you'll also enjoy an actual LIFE - as in "the life of a more evolved, sophisticated human" - then you are in for major trouble: nostalgia for the World Old and constant longing for esthetics, good conversation, decent food, non-superficial individuals, etc. But then again, I finally understood that I am one of those that have NOTHING to do with the "American Dream". And obviously, so is the author.

4 out of 5 stars Fun to read!.......2006-09-14

As an American who has lived in Italy since 2001 and has read countless pieces of writing on Italy by Brits and Americans -- I thoroughly enjoyed Severgnini's book! Many of the criticisms of it are correct, but, in all, it is insightful and plain funny. My husband and I (and many of our American friends in Italy) can certainly relate to his experience -- or his lack of experience with real estate advertisements and car sales and such. I recommend it to all of my American friends in Italy -- and we all get a great chuckle from his stories.
Discover America
Average customer rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars
  • looks are deceiving
  • Big Beautiful Comprehensive Planning Book
Discover America
READER'S DIGEST
Manufacturer: Readers Digest
ProductGroup: Book
Binding: Hardcover

GeneralGeneral | Transportation | Nonfiction | Subjects | Books
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ASIN: 0762104341

Book Description

Discover, re-discover, and renew your connection to America with this comprehensive, information-packed travel guide, featuring over 3,000 of America's most scenic treasures. Find not-to-be-missed historic sites, national parks, national monuments, and more-complete with over 1,200 color photographs. Organized by geographical region, and then by state, are 100 pages of the most up-to-date, detailed road maps.

Customer Reviews:

2 out of 5 stars looks are deceiving.......2005-09-30

THis book looks great at a quick glance, a more thorough read leaves you wanting. It does not attempt to rate locations, and is basically a quick blurb on all the bigger cities in the US. Yawn.

5 out of 5 stars Big Beautiful Comprehensive Planning Book .......2004-12-15

This is the book to use to plan for travel anywhere in America. It is not a book to take with you while traveling. It is too big and heavy for that purpose. To be used in preparation for an upcoming trip or vacation this book has more than 1200 brilliant color photographs and 100 pages of detailed road maps.

Discover America!: A Scenic Tour of the Fifty States
Average customer rating: Not rated
    Discover America!: A Scenic Tour of the Fifty States
    Kenneth Brower
    Manufacturer: National Geographic Society
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    ASIN: 0870448048
    N Is For Our Nation's Capital: A Washington DC Alphabet Edition 1. (Discover America State By State. Alphabet Series)
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • Great book for reading with your child
    N Is For Our Nation's Capital: A Washington DC Alphabet Edition 1. (Discover America State By State. Alphabet Series)
    Roland & Marie Smith
    Manufacturer: Sleeping Bear Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

    AlphabetAlphabet | Basic Concepts | Baby-3 | Children's Books | Subjects | Books
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    1. O is for Old Dominion: A Virginia Alphabet Edition 1. (Discover America State By State. Alphabet Series) O is for Old Dominion: A Virginia Alphabet Edition 1. (Discover America State By State. Alphabet Series)
    2. A is for America A is for America
    3. B is for Blue Crab: A Maryland Alphabet Edition 1. (Discover America State By State. Alphabet Series) B is for Blue Crab: A Maryland Alphabet Edition 1. (Discover America State By State. Alphabet Series)
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    ASIN: 1585361488

    Book Description

    Museums and monuments define the Washington, DC landscape, but the stories behind this majestic capital merely begin here. Looking beyond the monuments, from Abigail Adams to the National Zoo, to all the cherry blossoms, flags, houses, and presidents in between, N is for Our Nation's Capital is like a guided tour along the most interesting routes in our capital. Did you know the cherry trees that are an integral part of DC's scenery were gifts from Japan? Or that Mrs. Taft planted the first two? N is for Our Nation's Capital will be published in March to coincide with the opening of the cherry blossoms.

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Great book for reading with your child.......2007-01-09

    I purchased this book for a friend's child. It turned out to be a beautiful book and perfect for reading to your child. (Make sure they're sitting on your lap so they can learn the alphabet and enjoy the pictures.)
    H is for Hawkeye: An Iowa Alphabet Edition 1. (Discover America State By State. Alphabet Series)
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • Suitable for a wide range of ages
    • Learn about Iowa
    H is for Hawkeye: An Iowa Alphabet Edition 1. (Discover America State By State. Alphabet Series)
    Patricia Pierce
    Manufacturer: Sleeping Bear Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    3. B is for Badger: A Wisconsin Alphabet Edition 1. (Discover America State By State. Alphabet Series) B is for Badger: A Wisconsin Alphabet Edition 1. (Discover America State By State. Alphabet Series)
    4. C is for Cornhusker: A Nebraska Alphabet Edition 1. (Discover America State By State. Alphabet Series) C is for Cornhusker: A Nebraska Alphabet Edition 1. (Discover America State By State. Alphabet Series)
    5. H is for Hoosier: An Indiana Alphabet H is for Hoosier: An Indiana Alphabet

    ASIN: 1585361143

    Book Description

    Illustrated by Bruce Langton

    Did you know the Hawkeye State got its nickname from Chief Black Hawk of the Sauk tribe? Or that D is for Des Moines, the capital with the golden dome? Or that Iowa is bordered on each side by navigable rivers, the Missouri marks the western border and the Mississippi forms its eastern border. H is for Hawkeye presents these and many other interesting facts about the great state of Iowa.

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars Suitable for a wide range of ages.......2005-10-13

    A very pleasant picture book for preschoolers, as well as a compendium of additional information for independent readers. Highly recommened.
    I am pleased that another adult reviewer prizes her book. However, the persons in Grant Wood's American Gothic are his sister Nan and his dentist. Picture is on loan from the Chicago Art Institue to the Cedar Rapids [IA] Museum of Art this fall [2005.] Wood was a long-time teacher in the Cedar Rapids public schools.

    5 out of 5 stars Learn about Iowa.......2003-12-01

    I was given this book as a baby gift because I grew up in Iowa. By reading this book, I learned things about the state that I never knew. For instance, I did not know that the American Gothic painting is really a farmer and his daughter. H is for Hawkeye will be a keepsake for my family. I will be able to show my son pictures of and information about the state I was raised in.

    I like the format with the simple rhymes and the additional paragraphs with more information about each letter's detail. The illustrations are very well done and appealling. I will be giving this book to several children this holiday season and I will be looking at other state alphabet books in this series. This is a wonderful way to teach history and geography of our great country.
    M Is For Mitten: A Michigan Alphabet Edition 1. (Discover America State By State. Alphabet Series)
    Average customer rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    • M Is For Mitten: A Michigan Alphabet
    • An excellent book!
    • M is for Mitten
    • Not Just for Children!
    • Triple Threat!
    M Is For Mitten: A Michigan Alphabet Edition 1. (Discover America State By State. Alphabet Series)
    Annie Appleford
    Manufacturer: Sleeping Bear Press
    ProductGroup: Book
    Binding: Hardcover

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    ASIN: 1886947732

    Book Description

    Illustrated by Michael G. Monroe

    Where was the first mile of highway paved? Who was the 38th President of the United States? What is the nation's most remote National Park? What was the first bottled soda pop in this country? Find the answers to these questions and many more in M is for Mitten: A Michigan Alphabet.

    Author Annie Appleford has written M is for Mitten: A Michigan Alphabet to acquaint children with the most important people, places and items that have helped mold Michigan into the tremendous state it is. Rich with gorgeous paintings by Michigan artist Michael Monroe, M is for Mitten is both educational for older children and entertaining for youngsters who will surely be dazzled by the diverse and colorful illustrations from cover to cover.

    Kids can climb an Evergreen tree, hop on the back of a Robin, fly with him of the Mackinac Bridge through the Upper Peninsula for a visit to Isle Royale, before going to Detroit to drink Vernor's and then to Battle Creek to eat Kellogg's cereal. They can paddle in a birch bark canoe with Native Americans in and out of our many Harbors and then head to Lansing for a visit to the Capital. M is for Mitten: A Michigan Alphabet is an all expense paid trip from shore to shore through the Great Lakes State, and you won't need a map - just look at your hand!

    Customer Reviews:

    5 out of 5 stars M Is For Mitten: A Michigan Alphabet.......2007-08-09

    We love this book with the way it teaches the history of Michigan to children of all ages. We buy it often as a baby gift for families with ties to Michigan who now live in other states. We want their children to know more about their parent's roots here in the beautiful state of Michigan!

    5 out of 5 stars An excellent book!.......2007-03-24

    I am a Pre-K teacher and we did a study of Michigan. I chose this book because I was familiar with it when I taught higher grades. I wasn't sure how the younger kids would repond but they really enjoyed it. Our students love this book. I do a trivia game with them every week and they can still remember what they learned. What I love about the book is that it presents the facts in a fun manner and they love the colorful and detailed pictures. I feel that this is an awesome book for any age!

    5 out of 5 stars M is for Mitten.......2001-11-13

    Like all of the Sleeping Bear Press books this one is also fabulous! I used this book for a literature lesson with a Michigan unit. The kids love the poems and I like the facts that go along with them. This is a delightful story that any child (especially a Michigan child) will enjoy.

    5 out of 5 stars Not Just for Children!.......2001-01-24

    "M is for Michigan" makes a wonderful coffee table book, in my opinion. I don't have young children in the home anymore, but someday hope to have grandchildren and will greatly enjoy reading this lovely book to them. While we were in Whitehall, Michigan my mother bought a copy for herself as she loves well-written children's books. Later I went back to the same store and bought one of my own. I do refer to it from time to time and although I don't have a coffee table I keep it on display on my living room bookshelf!

    5 out of 5 stars Triple Threat!.......2000-06-22

    Amazing illustrations...great poetry...interesting facts. You'll find all three in this alphabet book about Michigan. Great to read aloud and great to read alone (again and again)....I highly recommend this book (and future books in the series) to all elementary school teachers. My second graders hurried to grab this book after I read it aloud. Unique and such a high-quality book! BUY IT!
    Discover American Indian Ways: A Carnegie Activity Book (Carnegie Discover Series)
    Average customer rating: Not rated
      Discover American Indian Ways: A Carnegie Activity Book (Carnegie Discover Series)
      Pamela Soeder
      Manufacturer: Roberts Rinehart Publishers
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Paperback

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      ASIN: 157098199X

      Book Description

      An engrossing mix of games, brainteasers, and stories makes learning the basics of natural science and history fun.
      Lowji Discovers America
      Average customer rating: 4 out of 5 stars
      • The kids laughed and laughed
      • LEMONY FRESH!
      • pce student review
      • Lowji Discovers America
      • America
      Lowji Discovers America
      Candace Fleming
      Manufacturer: Atheneum/Anne Schwartz Books
      ProductGroup: Book
      Binding: Hardcover

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      ASIN: 0689862997

      Book Description

      Dear Jamshed,

      America is not so different from what we thought. I told you I wouldn't see a single cowboy riding across the plain, and I haven't.

      I have not even seen a plain.

      Still, there are some silver linings. They are:

      1. Trapper and King, the cat and dog who live in the apartment building. They are cuddly and waggy. I am not allowed to play with them, though, becayse they are supposed to catch mice and keep burglars away.

      2. Ironman. He owns a pig and talks to me a lot. But he is a grown-up.

      3. Kids. I can hear them playing outside. Too bad they do not want to play with me.

      I wish you were here.

      Do you wish I was in India?

      Write back soon.

      Your friend,

      Lowji

      Customer Reviews:

      5 out of 5 stars The kids laughed and laughed.......2007-05-04

      My kids (girl 10, boy 8) love this book. Lowji comes to America, from India, and innocently manages to make everything more fun.

      It is a cultural fish out of water story, and invokes the fun parts of the experience of immersion in a new culture.

      The kids loved extending the metaphor of the bus descending the himalayas without brakes. They added a passenger and a drunken driver to their imagery.

      We read a lot, but reading this book with them has been more fun than any other book in my recent memory.

      4 out of 5 stars LEMONY FRESH!.......2007-04-30

      This is a great book, especially for boys. Although it can seem a little slow at times, it makes up for it with such delectable items as the burping episode ("Later, gasbag.") and the charming art of squirting milk out of one's nostril at will. A boy's sweet dream, this book!

      4 out of 5 stars pce student review.......2007-04-24

      Lowji Discovers America is a great book. It's written by Candace, Fleming. She is a really good writer. She has fun with her writing, and makes it exciting! I think it is the best fiction book ever.

      My favorite scene is when all of the animals make a mess in the neighbor's lawn. My favorite character is Lowji because he is fun to listen to. Lowji Discovers America is for people who like any kind of funny book. Anyone can read this amazing book, all ages. You will love it just like I do! In this book I learned that there is always an animal that you can get and depend on to do a job that you don't have time to do. I love the book Lowji Discovers America because it's great for kids and it has a lot of funny parts and it's not serious. Also it is the best book you could ever read!!!

      4 out of 5 stars Lowji Discovers America.......2006-11-29

      Lowji is so clueless in the beginning. Even though this is a quick read, there is so much excitement in this book.Lowji lives in an apartment with mice and rude neighbors. To solve many problems, Lowji suggests different animals to take the place of the broken tools, but then the animals make a bigger problem. Even so the owner of the apartment complex keeps the animals. In the end Lowji meets a girl and they become great friends. I'd tell you more, but I don't want to ruin the adventure. 'Lowji Discovers America' is definitly a book I suggest you to read. I hope you enjoy this story as I did.

      4 out of 5 stars America.......2006-01-18

      Candace Fleming goes out on a limb to tell the story of Lowji a young boy who moved with his mother and father from India to a small midwestern town in the United States of America. This story is charming, light-hearted, and well written. Lowji is an endearing character that comes to understand his new home. He is challenged by cultural misunderstandings and learning the funny expressions that English speakers of the United States often take for granted. In a very innocent way Lowji makes the adjustments to life in the USA. He makes new friends and settles into a new home. The acculturation experience is one that many new Americans may endure. Fleming handles the situation with clever conscience without vilifying either Lowji's family or the townspeople.

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      5. What to Drink with What You Eat: The Definitive Guide to Pairing Food with Wine, Beer, Spirits, Coffee, Tea - Even Water - Based on Expert Advice from America's Best Sommeliers
      6. Williams-Sonoma Mastering: Cakes, Frostings & Fillings (Williams Sonoma Mastering)
      7. Wine Food & Friends
      8. Writer's Market 2007 (Writer's Market)
      9. A New Way to Cook
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