HOW TO MAKE A CHERRY PIE AND SEE THE USA- Marjorie Priceman

A little girl wants to make a cherry pie, but first she has must travel round the United States to gather the ingredients. She and her dog start in Pennsylvania , where she gets steel to make a pie pan, drops by New Mexico for the clay to create the mixing bowl, visits Hawaii to get sand for the glass mixing cup, etc. Ultimately, the little girl ends up at home in time to make a pie (recipe included) for the Fourth of July. The illustrations are bright and colorful, but also very clever- in each place the little girl visits, you can find a landmark or sight unique to that area, e.g. Mount Rushmore and  the Golden Gate Bridge. 

I could get a lot of mileage out of this book. First, it's just a fun read. Kids would love following the little girl's travels, in a variety of modes of transportation, around the United States. They'd enjoy hunting down the landmarks from each area. I could also see using the book with fourth or fifth graders to teach a quick lesson on natural resources- if you know the old alphabet book,  Q IS FOR DUCK, this book has that kind of "guessing appeal." And people that are not domestically challenged could try out the cherry pie recipe. 

Great companion to HOW TO MAKE AN APPLE PIE AND SEE THE WORLD!