Oregon

The first thing I want to say is that I like the way the purple border of the front cover of this From Sea to Shining Sea compliments the photograph of the Portland skyline with Mt. Hood in the background. The second thing is that since my brother lives in Oregon I have had the opportunity to visit there quite a few times in the past couple of years and driving up the Columbia River Gorge and stopping to see the various waterfalls and other sights is one of the most enjoyable trips I have taken (it helps when just driving along the highway is pretty impressive). In this informative volume Terry Miller Shannon introduces young readers to the Beavers State, covering not only the state's rich history and unique attractions, but also its geography, government, and people. The diverse geography of Oregon is covered in the second chapter, where Shannon lays out six distinct land regions: the Coast Range, the Willamette Valley, the Klmath Mountains, the Cascade Mountains (which includes Crater Lake), the Columbia Plateau, and the Basin and Range Region. Obviously the lakes and rivers section has a lot to cover, and Shannon makes a distinction between the climate in eastern and western Oregon thanks to the Cascade Mountains. The longest chapter is always the third in these books, which is where the history of the state is covered. The arrival of first the Europeans and then Lewis and Clark establishes the importance of the region to the fur trade. Following the missionaries that arrived in the early 1840s, the establishment of the Oregon Trail, which should resonate with any young reader who has ever played the popular and educational computer game. Other sections are devoted to statehood, the discovery of gold, and the struggles with the Nez Perce tribe. The 20th century section highlight how the New Deal transformed Oregon, the internment of Japanese-Americans in camps in eastern Oregon, and the emphasis on the environment in modern Oregon (I remember a greeting card where the state's governor invited you to visit any other state and the highway north from California gets to Washington by going around and rather through Oregon; no wonder we thought of the place as a great place to live). After touching on the three branches of state government, the key part of chapter four is a tour of Salem, the state capital. A map of the downtown area shows not only the State Capitol but also several museums and Salem Riverfront Park, where you will find both the Riverfront Carousel and A.C. Gilbert's Discovery Village (a sidebar explains why Gilbert was known as "the man who saved Christmas"). The final chapter looks at what working people in Oregon do and provides a recipe for Stuffed Spuds. Then Shannon takes us on a tour of Oregon, starting on the eastern part of the state, but devoting the most space to the Oregon coast, the Portland area, and the Willamette Valley. Color photographs highlight some of the best sights to see, from the peak of Moun