Fifty States Under God by Joy Dean is a study of all 50 states. Each state is presented in order of statehood. This is not a comprehensive U.S. History course, but an overview the history and geography of each state. Designed as a one-semester course, it is expandable to a full year. Mrs. Dean's goal for Fifty States Under God is to generate a love of history and a desire to learn. She writes, "In the course of studying events of particular interest to each state, the student will see, from a Christian perspective, how these events affected that state and our nation as a whole."

The 55 lessons, one for each state plus 5 quizzes, are presented in a timeline format. The book is divided into three sections; lesson plans and time line, fifty states in order of statehood, and appendix and state symbol pictures. The lesson plans include an overview of information about each state and quizzes. The fifty state section includes four workbook pages per state with fill in the blank information, interesting facts, and fun activities. Activities include word puzzles and map work. The appendix and state symbol section includes statehood facts, population and land area, state mottos, state symbols, weather data, state economy information, a list of U.S. presidents and signers of the Declaration, and color pictures to cut out and paste in the fifty state section.

You can use one book for your family, or each student can have their own book. When working together as a family, all ages will find the information interesting and the activities manageable. If students are expected to work independently, I suggest waiting until third grade. This is an affordable and remarkable overview of U.S. history. I give Fifty States Under God two thumbs up! Check out A Helping Hand at www.statehistory.net.

--Product Review by: Tina Rice, Senior Research, The Old Schoolhouse^® Magazine, LLC