My kids have a new book, C is for California, from WestWinds Press. Twenty-six pages, starting with “A is for Alcatraz,” “B is for Beach” and “C is for Cinco de Mayo.” How many of the remaining pages can you name?
Warning: “V is for Central Valley.”
Jon Weisman
Heard this during my 9-year-old’s recap of her day: “… role playing about the Stamp Act.”
Anonymous
Occupy Boston Harbor?
Rob McMillin
D is for desert
Scott Griffee
If “D” isn’t for for Dodger Stadium then that book isn’t worth the paper it is printed on!
Derek TC
If the title is C is for California, why would they use Cinco de Mayo? I really need to start writing kids books…these authors are terrible.
Jon Weisman
The book was compiled from a list of kids’ suggestions.
Derek TC
lol, well, in a way it proves my point because this book, that was written from suggestions from children, is about equal to the ones written by adults….Then again, these suggestions still had to go through multiple adults before they were put on pages, so it really isn’t an excuse that it is based off of children’s suggestions.
Jon Weisman
What exactly is the problem with using a “C” that’s different from the title?
Matt Worland
Really? V for Central Valley? That really seems like cheating. Let’s try a few . . .
G is for Golden Gate Bridge?
M is for Malibu? or Missions?
R is for Redwoods?
They should have just had V for Valleys in general, or Ventura.
Dave Alden
Visalia? Victorville?
Jon Weisman
Matt is correct on R.
Anonymous
I wonder how the author approached the letter S.
S –
is for San Francisco, San Clemente, San Isidro, Santa Catalina…
Derek TC
V is for Vin Scully.
Derek TC
Jon, do a Dodgers version of this book. I would but am too lazy.
Jon Weisman
New baseball post up top, but please continue to make your guesses here.
Dave Alden
D has to be Disneyland. Although Dodger Stadium would have been a better answer.
S is for sunshine?
O is for oranges?
Jon Weisman
Dave nails D and O in one shot.
Dave Alden
H = Hollywood?
S = Surfing?
I guess I’m playing alone. Everyone else seems to have wandered away.
Jon Weisman
I’m still paying attention …
Dave Alden
It might just be you and me.
P = Pacific Ocean?
Dave Alden
S = Sierra Nevada?
Jon Weisman
Nope.
Dave Alden
M = Movies?
Dave Alden
S = Silicon Valley?
Dave Alden
A = Avocados?
Jon Weisman
Some of them are hard, but you guys are missing some easy ones.
Jon Weisman
I gave you A!
Dave Alden
Oh yeah, good point. But I like avocados better.
Dave Alden
L = Los Angeles?
And with the final guess, I’m calling it a night. Thanks for the late night game of “Are you smarter than a fifth-grader?”
Jon Weisman
Yes on L!
Dave Alden
So I got O, L, and D. Perhaps that explains why I feel old this evening. I look forward to learning the missing letters tomorrow.
Anonymous
Z is for San Diego Zoo.
Jon Weisman
Yes on Z
Anonymous
E is for earthquakes
F is for freeway
G is for gold rush
I is for Inland Empire
M is for Mojave Desert
P is for Pacific Coast Highway
Q is for Queen Mary
S is for Stanford :-)
U is for Universal Studios
V is for Vineyards
Y is for Yosemite
Jon Weisman
Yes on E, G and Y
Linkmeister
K is for Knott’s Berry Farm.
M is for Malibu.
Anonymous
M is for mountains
W is for Walk of Fame
Jon Weisman
Nope on the overnight guesses.
Dave Alden
If I tally correctly, we have A, B, C, D, E, G, L, O, R, V, Y, and Z. And Jon gave us four of those.
T = Tahoe?
S = San Francisco Bay?
W = Wine? (Perhaps inappropriate for a children’s book, so maybe Wine Country)
U = University of California?
Anonymous
P is for Poppy?
S is for Sacramento? or Sequoia?
Q is for Quail?
Anonymous
M for movies or movie stars?
Jon Weisman
Dave got T.
Ghost got P, Q and narrowed it down on S – Sacramento.
Anonymous
Poppy? Of all the P’s in California? Wow.
Jon Weisman
You need F, H, I, J, K, M, N, U, V, W, X.
A few of those are gettable; after that, I’ll reveal the rest.
Jack Dawkins
F = Fresno
H = Humbolt
M = Mission
N = Napa
U = Universal studios
K = Killer Whale
Hard to think like a kid on these.
Jon Weisman
Jack gets N – Napa Valley
Jack Dawkins
Just hit me
F has to be Freeway
Anonymous
F = fun, fire, freeway, or forty-niners
H = hills (surprised its not Hollywood) or high tech
I = Ice cream, or Irvine
J = Japantown (for those Bay area residents)
K = Kerntucky, or Kiwis (grown in the northern central valley)
M= Mission, movies or Monterey
N= nothing, or nuts
U= Universal Studios
V= Central Valley
W = west coast, wildlife, or (San Diego) Wild Animal Park
X= x-box
Jon Weisman
M is Monterey Bay Aquarium – close enough :)
Anonymous
F=Forests
H=Hollywood
I=Indio
J=Junipero Serra
X=X-Men
W=Water
Jon Weisman
You’re on the right track with W.
Anonymous
K= Knott’s Berry Farm
Amusement parks seem to be popular
Omr PrzJrz
F is for San Andreas Fault?
Anonymous
X=X Games?
Jon Weisman
Also on the right track here.
Anonymous
X = X Games
Anonymous
F=Fabulous Forum
Omr PrzJrz
H=Hearst Castle, X=Xanadu, W=West Coast
Omr PrzJrz
sorry, Xanadu makes no sense. Strike that.
Jon Weisman
SaMo gets J with Father Junipero Serra.
Jon Weisman
Omr, yes, H is Hearst Castle.
Dave Alden
I = Indigenous people/Indians?
Jon Weisman
I think we’re down to F, I, K, U, W, X. As soon as someone gets F I’ll reveal the rest.
Omr PrzJrz
F is for San Fransisco
Anonymous
f=Franchising, you know, because kids love McDonalds.
Anonymous
W=Waterparks?
Water rights?
Water skiing?
Waterworld, a film so old that no kid born after 1999 has even heard of it?
Anonymous
K=Kiss, the screen version, not the Gene Simmons version.
As long as it’s not Kardashian, I’m ok with being wrong.
Anonymous
I= In-n-out Burger
Nathan Cash
W = Mt. Whitney
David
F = forest fires
I = imagination
K = Krispy Kremes
U = umpire
W = waterfall
X = X-Factor
Jon Weisman
OK, you’ve all suffered enough:
F: Fisherman’s Wharf
I: Indigenous people
K: King’s Canyon
U: Ursus Californicus
W: Wind (don’t ask)
X: eXtremes
Anonymous
I should have guessed Fisherman’s Wharf, Kings Canyon (its not far from here as the crow flies), and maybe California Grizzly, but I wouldn’t think that kids would know scientific names! Those Santa Ana winds can wreak havoc, that’s probably why it’s on there.
Anonymous
King’s Canyon makes sense, but the others all bite. Everywhere has indigenous people. . . well, except Antarctica.
Dave Alden
I like Ursus Californicus and am unhappy I didn’t think of it. Of course, it’s the mascot of my alma mater.
Anonymous
Why quail? I gather there’s something called a California Quail, but is it so special? Aren’t there California versions of other animals? Or was Q just too hard to come up with anything else, like ex-Dodgers who play for the Rangers?
Jon Weisman
It’s the official state bird.