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Virginia: An Alphabetical Journey Through History teaches children about the people, places, geography, and history of the Old Dominion from A to Z. In the book, students learn about the Commonwealth’s indigenous peoples and its colonial heritage; the many presidents who came from Virginia; its Revolutionary and Civil War histories; its famous houses and grand plantations; its favorite sons and daughters, from Arthur Ashe to Ella Fitzgerald to George Washington. It is written to meet Virginia’s educational standards of learning.
Written by Betty Bruce Shepard with Peter and Cheryl Barnes, illustrated by Marsha Lederman, edited by Catherine Howell and designed by Shirley Gromen. 
Reading level grades 3-5. ISBN 1-893622-14-2, hard cover with dust jacket, 32 pp.
REVIEWS
"The geographic shape of the Commonwealth of Virginia looks like a triangle and three of its main historical occurrences are the basis of The United States of America--the first permanent settlement in the new world, the surrender of Cornwallis at Yorktown, and the surrender at Appomattox, where the country became a truly unified nation. Shepard documents these important landmarks in Virginia history, as well a vast amount of varied material about this "Mother of presidents." Presented in a readable style with multiple entries for each letter of the alphabet, this fact-filled book is illustrated with watercolor drawings, maps, real photographs, sidebars of biographical portraits, and a variety of interesting insets. The illustrations have an antique look which enhances the text with a sense of the history being depicted. Color differentiated sections and boxed off materials make it easy to track each of the informational sections. This title is text dense but its design and layout make it accessible to students and teachers (or anyone interested in the "Old Dominion"). Facts included range from a map showing the geographic regions of the state, to the state insect (Tiger Swallowtail), to landmark buildings (The Pentagon, Mount Vernon, Monticello, etc.). People discussed include Arthur Ashe, Pearl Bailey, Ella Fitzgerald, Patrick Henry, William Henry Harrison, Captain John Smith, Thomas Jefferson, Robert E. Lee, Meriwether Lewis, William Clark, James Madison, James Monroe, John Marshall, Pocahontas, Mary Peake, Mary Bowser, Walter Reed, John Tyler, Zachary Taylor, and others. Shepard is a dedicated researcher and an experienced teacher/librarian, who has managed to present an extraordinary amount of information (students familiar with this book will easily pass the SOL test on VA history) in a pleasing format that will become a reference book in libraries and classrooms across the country." -- Children's Literature Review
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