50Cities Research

VOTE FOR IT: Five things to find in Seattle, Washington

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 On each spread of the upcoming 50 CITIES, Sol and I have hidden five things we think are a good representation of the city. What should we hide in Seattle, Washington: five umbrellas, five heron, or five Seattle dogs?

To help you decide, consider these facts:

RECORD-BREAKING RAIN
10 inches of rain fell in Seattle in October, 2016 alone. That shatters the old record of 8.96 inches set in 2003. The normal rainfall for October is 3.48 inches.

THE KIWANIS MEMORIAL PRESERVE PARK
houses nests of the Great Blue Heron, which weighs a mere five pounds — but has a wingspan of six feet!

WATERFALL GARDEN PARK
Here, grab a "Seattle Dog” — a hot dog topped with cream cheese (!) and marvel at this 22-foot people-made waterfall in the middle of the city.

#voteforit #50cities #Seattle

VOTE FOR IT: Five things to find in San Francisco, California

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On each spread of the upcoming 50 CITIES, Sol and I have hidden five things we think are a good representation of the city. What should we hide in San Francisco, California: five tie-dyed t-shirts, five sea lions, or five Yodas?

To help you decide, consider these facts:

THE CORNER OF HAIGHT & ASHBURY
In the mid-1960s, this was perhaps the most famous intersection in the world, a place where young people came to from all over the world in search of love and peace...and often wore tie-dye t-shirts!

PIER 39
As many as 1,700 slippery sea lions bask in the sun along this pier, barking and munching on squid and anchovy.

YODA FOUNTAIN
Animation superstars work on the next Star Wars at Lucasfilm Ltd.'s sleek headquarters in Presido park. Love it, you will.

#voteforit #50cities #SanFrancisco

VOTE FOR IT: Five things to find in Tucson, Arizona

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On each spread of the upcoming 50 CITIES (October 2017), Sol and I have hidden five things we think are a good representation of the city. What should we hide in Tucson, Arizona: five turquoise rings, five Tohono O'odham baskets, or five Arizona Ridge-Nosed Rattlesnakes? Let us know in the comments! or on FB at http://bit.ly/50C_VoteForIt
#voteforit #50cities

VOTE FOR IT: Coffee Facts from Seattle, Washington

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Readers, I need your help! It is time for my semi-weekly #voteforit #50Cities where YOU share your opinion to help me decide between the inspiring people, interesting foods, curious landmarks, and moments to remember to include in one of the 50 cities in our upcoming book, 50 CITIES (Wide Eyed Editions, October 2017).

VOTE FOR IT: Which COFFEE FACT should we include from Seattle, Washington?

CUP OF JOE There are about 1,600 coffee shops in the Seattle area, including the very first Starbucks, in Pike Place Market.

DO WHALES DRINK COFFEE? The coffee chain Starbucks was named after the first mate in the novel Moby Dick.

VOTE FOR IT: Animal Facts from Anchorage, Alaska

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Readers, I need your help! It is time for my semi-weekly #voteforit #50Cities where YOU share your opinion to help me decide between two things to include in one of the 50 cities in our upcoming book, 50 CITIES (Wide Eyed Editions, October 2017). 

VOTE FOR IT: Which ANIMAL FACT should we include from Anchorage, Alaska?

BEAR BUSINESS Grizzly bears have shorter ears and longer claws than black bears; you can find both in the area.

MUSK OXEN were among the first animals to cross the Bering Land Bridge from Asia.

VOTE FOR IT: Transportation Facts from Newark, New Jersey

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Readers, I need your help! It is time for my semi-weekly #voteforit #50Cities where YOU share your opinion to help me decide between the inspiring people, interesting foods, curious landmarks, and moments to remember to include in one of the 50 cities in our upcoming book, 50 CITIES (Wide Eyed Editions, October 2017). 

VOTE FOR IT: Which TRANSPORTATION FACT should we include from Newark, New Jersey?

PORT NEWARK
Some 8,000 shoe boxes can fit into each 40' foot container that passes through the East Coast's largest container shipping terminal.

NEWARK LIBERTY INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT
About 20,000 people work at the nation's oldest airfield, as air traffic controllers and more.  

VOTE FOR IT: Inspiring People from San Francisco, California

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Readers, I need your help! It is time for my semi-weekly #voteforit #50Cities where YOU share your opinion to help me decide between the inspiring people, interesting foods, curious landmarks, and moments to remember to include in one of the 50 cities in our upcoming book, 50 CITIES (Wide Eyed Editions, October 2017). 

VOTE FOR IT: Which inspiring person should we include for San Francisco, California?

GENNIFER CHOLDENKO b.1957 The award-winning author of Al Capone Does My Shirts writes about living near a notorious Alcatraz inmate and grew up riding horses in the area.

DANIEL HANDLER b.1970 Under the pen name Lemony Snicket, this accordion player and former San Francisco Boys Chorus member wrote A Series of Unfortunate Events.

VOTE FOR IT: Inspiring People from Houston, Texas

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Inspired by the good librarians at #TxLA, today I launch #voteforit #50Cities: a new feature on my A Day in the Life blog. Once a week (or so!), I'll turn to readers for help deciding between the inspiring people, interesting foods, curious landmarks, and moments to remember to include in one of the 50 cities in our upcoming book, 50 CITIES (Wide Eyed Editions, October 2017). 

I'd love to hear what you think should be included (and why!) so please drop me a line in the comments.

Happy exploring!

VOTE FOR IT: Which inspiring person should we include for Houston, Texas?
KATHI APPELT b.1954 The award-winning author of The Underneath lives in Houston and was born in the front seat of her dad's car!

DIANNA HUTTS ASTON b.1964 The award-winning author of An Egg is Quiet was born in Houston and loved reading about dinosaurs as a child.


 

 

Rock Out to a State PlayList...Spanish Harlem Incident

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You gotta have tunes while you work, and if the subject matter of the song happens to match the topic, all the better! Join me in listening to my STATE PLAYLIST, which at the moment is really a New York City Playlist, to cheer me while researching New York City for 50 STATES, coming to you in Fall 2017. 

For each city I always list a few good children's books that either take place in that city or are written in authors from that city. There are so many good choices for New York that I've had to start a pinterest board. For NYC, I listed a few of my favorite New York songs, "Spanish Harlem Incident" by Bob Dylan, for Aaron, and "Manhattan" by Cat Power, for me. They kick off the playlist.

My mom got me TAR BEACH by Faith Ringgold when Is tarted college at Barnard, on New York's upper west side. It kicks off the pinterest board.

NY_tarbrach.jpg