Wow! I have lived my entire life looking at maps of the United States and have never noticed the "little man in the map." Have you? Well, in Martonyi's award-winning book, The Little Man in the Map Teaches the State Capitals, you and your children will discover who this little man is and how he can help with state/capital recognition and memorization.

In this book, memory aids will be used to help your children make connections between states and their capitals. Each state has a 2-page spread. On the first page is the state's name in bold letters followed by Word Clues, the Full Clue, and a picture of the state with its capital. For example, Alaska's word clues are "All I ask ya (Alaska)" and "June snow" (Juneau). The full clue would be "All I ask ya is for June snow."

On the second page you will see the state's capital in bold letters and the heading "An easy way to remember," which consists of a black-and-white cartoon illustration and a short rhyme using the word clues. For example, Alaska's illustration pictures a man on his knees begging for snow followed by the rhyme, "All I ask ya and this I pray--Let June snow come my way." (Word clues are always in bold letters.)

My children and I have been studying American history for the past year and a half, but I have not overly stressed the complete memorization of the states and capitals. I thought this book would be a perfect fit for my boys, who are 8 and 11. For my 8-year-old, I set the timer for 30 minutes, and he was able to read over half of the book--he made it to Rhode Island. I promptly handed him a worksheet (one that I already had) that listed the 50 states. Blanks were provided for him to write in the capitals. He was able to correctly fill in 17 blanks. Some capitals he already knew, but the book may have helped with others.

My 11-year-old, who is in sixth grade, read the entire book in one hour, and he took the same quiz I gave to his brother. He only correctly identified 19 capitals. I was surprised since he has had a little more practice with states and capitals. When I asked him about it, he said the rhymes and pictures in the book confused him and that he preferred learning the states and capitals simply by memorization.

I have always liked word clues and word pictures, but I guess I can see how this book could be confusing to learners who just want the facts and no fluff. I did notice on my third grader's paper that he wrote the word clues "Lantern" (for Georgia's capital) and "Mount Gummery" (for Alabama's capital) instead of the actual capitals, Atlanta and Montgomery. As with any method of study, though, I think learning takes time. And honestly, I don't think an hour is ample time to process all of the clues for each state. With more time devoted to this learning method, I think my boys would show much improvement, especially with capitals that seem to stump them every time!

I found Martonyi's concept to be very clever, interesting, and funny. However, I do think more than an hour is needed to completely learn all of the states and their capitals. The content layout is neat, and the text is easy to understand. I recommend this affordable paperback ($11.95) for visual and creative learners. It is very deserving of its many awards!

Product review by Brandi Tesreau, The Old Schoolhouse^® Magazine, LLC, December 2010

Another review:

Struggling to learn the state capitals? Are you frustrated or bored with rote memorization? The Little Man in the Map just might be your solution. Using rhymes and humor to teach the capitals, this paperback book takes a creative approach in teaching kids of all ages--and maybe even refresh the memory of parents along the way!

This book has a simple and easy-to-follow format. Each state and its capital are given a two-page spread. The left page gives sprightly word clues that are created from the first letter of the respective state and capital. For example, let's look at Austin, Texas. The word clue for Texas is Tex-Mex; the word clue for Austin is awesome. Then the two words are put together in a simple sentence referred to as a full clue: "Tex-Mex [Texas] food is awesome [Austin] to eat." The adjoining page is used to reinforce the clues; it gives a two- to four-line rhyme. Using our same example above, the rhyme would read as follows: "Tex-Mex food is awesome to eat. Everyone says it can't be beat." Above the story, a whimsical picture is given to visually help the learner remember the story.

What makes this format of learning unique is the way it triggers and stimulates the brain to member facts using silly rhymes, stories, and pictures. It takes the mundane task of memorization and turns it into an exciting new way to learn the state capitals.

The versatility of this book is an asset as it can be used in several different ways: independently by a child, in a small group setting, in a classroom setting, by homeschoolers and non-homeschoolers alike. It can be used as a stand-alone method for teaching the capitals or in conjunction with another program. I found, however, that The Little Man in the Map is the only book we'll ever need to learn the state capitals with fun and proficiency.