Parisian siblings Adèle and Simon visit America in this second picture-book devoted to their adventures, traveling around the country with their Aunt Cécile. At each stop they experience something new and exciting, from shopping in San Francisco's Chinatown to boarding a Mississippi steamboat in St. Louis. And of course, at each stop Simon manages to lose some new item of clothing or equipment, leading older sister Adèle to fret and scold. Luckily, just as in the first title, his belongings seem to always find their way home...

Read directly after the original Adèle & Simon, Adèle & Simon in America didn't quite live up to its predecessor, in my view. McClintock's pen-and-ink drawings, enhanced by watercolors, are as charming as ever, and the fun of picking out Simon's lost articles hasn't diminished, but the travelogue aspect of the tale was less satisfying. In the first title, the reader gets a real sense (realistic or not) of Paris, but here the narrative rushes so rapidly from city to city that it becomes a blur of different impressions, rather than a tribute to a particular place. It would have been a stronger book if McClintock had confined herself to one American city, whether it be New York or Chicago. Still, fans of the first book will undoubtedly enjoy this second title, and look forward to a possible third. ( )

This book can be used as an introduction to the US regions. The story follows the journey of a brother and sister as their aunt takes them on a vacation across the US. The journey starts in Paris, France where the two siblings are from. They then travel to New York where their aunt lives. From there the trio visits Boston, Chicago, North Dakota, Washington State, San Francisco, Denver, Santa Fe, Texas, New Orleans, St. Louis, and Washington D.C. ( )

McClintock, B. (2008). Adèle & Simon in America. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

This nicely done sequel to Adèle & Simon is written in the same gentle style as the original. The relationship between the sister and brother may remind young readers of their own interactions with siblings—the exasperated tone of the older sister is reasonable and restrained as her younger brother keeps losing his belongings during a trip across America in the early 1900s. The book serves as a mini travel guide of select American cities during the turn of the century. It is beautifully designed—the high quality ivory paper and the map (a reproduction of one from the Library of Congress) on the endpapers, give the book an authentic, vintage feel. No awards could be found. ( )

Picture Book
Adele and Simon just arrived in New York City and they are preparing for a grand train trip around America. Simon knows exactly what he wants to pack. Adele hopes he won't lose any belongings along the way. As the two travel across the country and back, they explore many famous sites. Of course, Simon loses several items along the way. When Simon and Adele return to New York, Simon has several packages waiting for him. They contained all of Simon's lost things.
The illustrations are definitely the strength in this story. Readers get a much clearer and more detailed explanation of each area from exploring the pictures. The text lacks content and is more about a forgetful little boy then it is about the areas the children are visiting. The back of the book contains little paragraphs describing each place visited by the children, but it is less child friendly.
This book could be a fun way to teach children mapping skills. Students could plot each of Simon and Adele's stops on a map of the United States. They could add a fact about each spot and use the illustrations in the book to help draw a picture of an important landmark for each spot as well.

This is a great book to show students different cities in America. I really liked that the front and back inside cover are road maps of the USA with all of the cities in the book numbered. I am especially drawn to this book because both my husband and I are from North Dakota and one of the cities in the book is in North Dakota. I think it is really cool that a small town in North Dakota made it into this book! Loved it, hence the 5 stars! :) ( )