Dominican in Utah? <br> Review and GIVEAWAY!

by Carlen
Apr 10, 2016
3 min read

So the other day one of my BFFs shared that she was going on vacation to the Dominican Republic.

When my husband got home that night, during dinner conversation, I announced the news about our friend's travel plans.

The 5-year old pipes up between forkfuls of his favorite corkscrew pasta:

"Dwominican Reep-wuhbic? Is that in Utah?"

Woah. Huh? Utah-dabekidding me!!! (I try).

The 11-year old gives me the how-can-we-be-related look and there's a moment of silence followed by his kind and patient explanation of where the Dominican Republic is to his little brother.

Now you see, I'm a homeschool mom.

Actually, I'm a classical education homeschool mom.

I believe it is imperative to recover the lost tools of Geography. I apparently need to begin this recovery operation ASAP, in my own home.

I find it fascinating that today's so-called educational leaders claim to be preparing our children for a global economy when they fail to teach them where exactly on the globe this economy takes place.

Yes, I am keeping in mind that he's 5, and Geography isn't what he would be tackling in his studies, but there must be a fun way he can start becoming familiar with our states, right?

Geography, even for older kids, can be a most boring and tedious subject. You can trace maps, review states, capitals, major cities, etc, for rote memorization, but really they are all just plain ol' shapes you're looking at!

Or are they?

Enter The Little Man In The Map.

Oh my Geography goodness!

This is the most artfully and playfully written Geography book I've ever seen!

MIM, the main character is the short name given to the Man Inside the Map, a.k.a. MinIow MisArkLou. He just happens to be imaginatively placed straight down the middle of the 50 states.

You will have to read more in the book to find out how he comes to life and taps into each child's imagination to unlock the clues to learning Geography!

The fantastic illustrations by Ed Olson are engaging for any child, but particularly those visual learners. The rhyming feature in the entertaining story line by the author E. Andrew Martonyi is perfect for the auditory ones.

My son is absolutely IN LOVE.

He wants to read about MIM and his adventures all over the country daily and one of his favorite parts is telling us about UCAN - which ironically features Utah, ya know, no longer the home of the "Dwominican Reepwubic", thanks to this awesome book!

It's hard to follow this with any more glowing reviews, but Mr. Martonyi also teamed up with illustrator Michael Roberts to create an equally phenomenal companion book.

The Little Man in the Map Teaches the State Capitals claims you can "learn all 50 capitals in an hour!"

And by golly I did! (The 11-year old graded my test).

This second book uses the similar visual (although in blackline cartoons) and rhyming poetry mnemonics as the original and the two complement each other to stimulate children to learn in the most natural and fun way!

Add these two books to your home or school library. They are an excellent learning opportunity for both homeschools and classrooms.

Wish me luck with the 5 year old. We may venture down to Central America next. And unfortunately, multiple award-winning author Mr. Martonyi hasn't written that book yet, but here's hoping that he does!

Now for the GIVEAWAY!

Join the fun and enter to win BOTH books generously donated and signed by the author in the Rafflecopter via our GIveaway page below (U.S. only).

Last day to enter is Friday, April 15, 2016. Winner will be announced Saturday, April 16, 2016.

Thank you for supporting us!

Enter via our GIVEAWAY PAGE here