Born out of the wildly successful Arizona Way Out West & Wacky, Arizona Color Me Wacky! features 32 pages of Arizona coloring fun. The accompanying text teaches children about the Grand Canyon State's unique animals, plants and insects. The delightful, yet scientifically correct illustrations were created by award-winning illustrator Michael Hagelberg. Coloring the wacky facets of Arizona Arizona Way Out West & Wacky (Five Star Publications, 2011) by Conrad Storad and Linda Exley, illustrated by Michael Hagelberg, is a primer on Arizona and some of the unique, they call them wacky, aspects of life in our state. The book explores the history, people, plants and animals of the state kids will find interesting under the guidance of Johnny Ringo, the ringtail cat, the Arizona state mammal. It's a perfect fourth-graders reference book since fourth grade is the year they learn about Arizona history. I taught fourth graders for four years and this would have been an excellent book to use for the entire year. In addition to some boring things kids are required to remember about Arizona, like the structure of the state government, this book has things they will remember, like how to make a cornhusk doll, what native peoples ate, and of course about various stinky, spiny and poisonous creatures in Arizona. The best feature of the book are Michael Hagelberg's* illustrations sprawled across the pages begging to be colored. A child would end up with a 112-page book they had drawn and written in while learning about all the "wacky" things Storad and Exley present. *Note: Michael is a good friend of mine, so I was already aware of his considerable illustrating talent. ― Dan --― Daniel Friedman, Raising Arizona Kids History is not boring! It's a fact. Two of Arizona's creepiest creatures, the Gila monster and the tarantula, are shy: the largest lizard in the state is venomous but spends most of its life burrowing underground during the day and coming out at night to eat; the gentle tarantula would rather hide in sandy soil and only releases tiny poisonous hairs when it is threatened. In Arizona: Way Out West & Wacky, award-winning educators Conrad J. Storad and Lynda Exley, together with illustrator and designer Michael Hagelberg, use stories, crossword puzzles, word-games, and craft exercises to teach history. They also tell ghost stories and tales of Western moviemakers, and give instructions for making a cornhusk doll. And the book includes recipes for local food: biscuits, cobbler, and cornbread baked in a Dutch oven, as well as enchiladas, salsa, and rice pudding. Especially intriguing to children are lessons the book offers about Arizona's nightmare creatures, plus its roadrunners, snakes, jackrabbits, ants, and bees. Johnny Ringo, J. R. for short, is a Ringtail Cat. He is honored as Arizona's official state mammal, and he and his sister Jayne guide the reader through this adventurous history book often using humor as a teaching tool. "Eye on the Capital" is about a delegate who loses his glass eye. Being too vain to appear before the legislature, he lost his vote for the town of Prescott and "Phoenix captured the capital by one vote!" Using various styles and fonts, accompanied by accurate drawings ready for coloring, the easy-to-read pages are filled with information. Puzzles, quizzes, and word-games offer fun facts on the climate, the state's physical features, Native Americans, mining, tourism, farming, and legends of the Wild West. There is also a Glossary defining words found in the book. Recommended by the official Arizona State Historian, Marshall Trimble, the book is appropriate for ages nine to twelve; yet because there are pages to color, children as young as five will enjoy it. The creators live up to their promise of changing the minds of youngsters who think history is boring with their use of wise―and, indeed, sometimes wacky―facts concerning one of our fastest-growing western states. On the inside back cover are instructions to obtain guides and copies of the pages for educational purposes. --― Mary Popham, ForeWord Review Born out of the wildly successful Arizona Way Out West & Wacky, Arizona Color Me Wacky! features 32 pages of coloring fun. The accompanying text teaches little ones about the Grand Canyon State's unique animals, plants and insects. The delightful, yet scientifically correct illustrations were created by award-winning illustrator Michael Hagelberg. Conrad J. Storad is a national award-winning author of more than 40 science and nature books for young readers. His newest titles are Arizona Way Out West & Wacky, and Arizona Way Out West & Witty, fun history/activity books. AZ Witty was named OneBookAZ for Kids in 2012 by the Arizona State Library. AZ Wacky was a national finalist for the 2012 Benjamin Franklin Award for nonfiction. USA Book News named his Rattlesnake Rules as 2011 Best Children's Non-Fiction Picture Book. Michael Hagelberg couldn't make up his mind about what he wante