A Ridge Riders illustrated shape hunt across the fifty states, in Foundations Cycle 3 order
Every state is hiding something. Not inside the outline — the outline is the thing. Once a child sees Oklahoma as a frying pan, they cannot unsee it, and they will never again confuse it with Kansas. That is the whole trick.
Choose any state to reveal its capital, hidden-picture memory clue, and illustrated shape.
Bennett unrolled the map one night,
The lamp was low, the paper wide.
And Kodiak leaned in close and said,
“There's something in there. Something hides.”
Blaze put one paw on Tennessee.
“It isn't hidden. Look — it's plain.
The states aren't states at all,” she grinned.
“They're things. And I can prove it. Name a name.”
So Bennett pointed. Kodiak growled low.
And Blaze said, “Start out west, and go.”
Maine · New Hampshire · Massachusetts · Rhode Island · Connecticut
capitalAugusta
A gust of wind blows the lobster claw wide open. Au-GUST-a.
The Lobster Claw
A lobster claw held open wide,
All jagged edges, rough and torn.
It's got the coldest water in it.
It's the first place to see the morn.
ClueThe jagged east edge is the rocky coastline. Maine sees the sunrise before any other state.
capitalConcord
The whole tent is held up by one long cord. Con-CORD.
The Tent
A tent pitched with the point straight up,
The bottom staked out wide and flat.
Somebody's camping in the mountains.
The peak is where they hung their hat.
ClueThe point at the top is the narrow northern tip. The White Mountains are inside.
capitalBoston
Whose flintlock is hanging there? The boss's — and it weighs a ton. BOSS-ton.
The Flintlock
An old flintlock above the door,
Its barrel aimed along the shore.
The grip curls out into the sea.
One shot from here set a country free.
ClueThe barrel is the long straight body of the state. The hook at the end is Cape Cod, curling north into the Atlantic — and Lexington and Concord are inside it.
capitalProvidence
The tiny anchor provides for the whole coast — it's the only thing holding on. PROVIDE-nce.
The Little Anchor
The smallest anchor ever made,
Dropped in the corner, holding tight.
It's tiny, but it holds the coast,
And it won't slip, and it won't slide.
ClueNarragansett Bay splits the middle, making the anchor's shaft. Smallest state, longest official name.
capitalHartford
A giant heart wades across a river ford with the suitcase held over its head. HART-ford.
The Suitcase
A suitcase packed and set down flat,
A handle notched right in the top.
It's small. It's neat. It's going somewhere.
It's ready. Someone say when to stop.
ClueThe notch in the top edge is the little jog where Massachusetts pushes down.
Vermont · New York · New Jersey · Pennsylvania · Delaware
capitalMontpelier
Somebody is peeling the ice cream cone like a banana, up on a mountain. MONT-peeler.
The Ice Cream Cone
A cone tipped point-side down and green,
Wide at the top where scoops would sit.
It's melting slow in mountain air.
There's maple syrup all through it.
ClueWide north, narrow south. Vermont means green mountain — and it's the only New England state with no coast.
capitalAlbany
The crouching cat's mouth is stuffed full of bunnies. ALL-BUNNY.
The Crouching Cat
A cat crouched low and ready, tense,
Its long tail flicked out to the east.
It's watching something in the harbor.
It hasn't blinked. It hasn't ceased.
ClueThe tail is Long Island, stretching east. The head is up in the Adirondacks.
capitalTrenton
The pear finally drops — straight onto a train, and it weighs a ton. TREN-ton.
The Pear
A pear hangs from a slender stem,
Wide at the bottom, thin on top.
It's heavy. It's about to drop.
It's dangling and it will not stop.
ClueThe stem is the narrow northern tip. The wide bottom is the shore.
capitalHarrisburg
The keystone sits in the arch of a castle that is covered head to foot in hair. HARRIS-burg.
The Keystone
A big flat stone above the door,
The one that holds the arch in place.
Take it out and down it all comes.
It's got a notch cut in one face.
ClueThe notch is the northwest corner reaching Lake Erie. Pennsylvania is the Keystone State.
capitalDover
The little mouse leaps clean over a door. DOVE-r.
The Little Mouse
A little mouse crept up the coast
And froze there, small and still and gray.
It's easy to skip right past it —
But it was the first one, by the way.
ClueThe rounded top edge is a true circle, drawn twelve miles out from New Castle. First state to ratify the Constitution.
Maryland · Virginia · West Virginia · North Carolina · South Carolina
capitalAnnapolis
A crab named Anna directs traffic in the middle of the bay. ANNA-police.
The Crab
A crab with one enormous claw
Held open, waiting, near the sand.
The water cuts right through the middle —
The claw's on one side, then the land.
ClueThe water cutting through is the Chesapeake Bay. Blue crabs are the state's whole identity.
capitalRichmond
It's the richest slice of pie ever baked — a whole mound of it. RICH-mond.
The Slice of Pie
Another slice — but not like Nevada's.
This one points the other way.
With one small fork tip broken off
And floating out across the bay.
ClueThe broken-off fork tip is the Eastern Shore, cut away by the Chesapeake Bay.
capitalCharleston
The leaping frog lands on a hot charred stone and jumps again. CHARRED-stone.
The Leaping Frog
A frog mid-jump, legs flung out wide,
No two edges quite the same.
It's all elbows, all knees, all bends,
The wildest shape that's got a name.
ClueAlmost no straight lines. Every border is a river or a mountain ridge.
capitalRaleigh
Every wing in the country rallies at Kitty Hawk. RALLY.
The Wing
A wing stretched out from tip to tip,
Long and thin and made to fly.
The trailing edge is ragged there
Where sand and water meet the sky.
ClueThe ragged trailing edge is the Outer Banks. Kitty Hawk, where the first plane flew, is on it.
capitalColumbia
The sail is stitched to a tall stone column. COLUMN-bia.
The Sail
A triangle sail pulled taut and tight,
Leaning east to catch the wind.
The bottom edge is straight and true,
The point aimed where the boat has been.
ClueThree sides. The rounded east side is the Atlantic coast; the point aims at Charleston.
Georgia · Florida · Alabama · Mississippi · Louisiana
capitalAtlanta
The peach is hanging off a lantern. AT-A-LANTERN.
The Peach
A peach with one flat side pressed in,
Round at the bottom, soft and sweet.
It's sitting on a Southern sill
And ripening in all that heat.
ClueThe rounded bottom-right is the Atlantic coast. The straight left side is the Chattahoochee.
capitalTallahassee
That thumb belongs to a very tall lassie standing in the water. TALL-A-LASSIE.
The Thumb in the Ocean
A great big thumb hangs down and dips
Right in the water, testing it.
“Too warm,” it says. “Too warm by far.”
And leaves it hanging where you sit.
ClueThe thumb hangs south from the panhandle. The nail is the Keys, curving off the tip.
capitalMontgomery
The rocket can't launch — there's a mountain of gum stuck to the pad. MONT-GUM-ery.
The Rocket
A rocket standing on the pad,
Two fins spread out along the base.
It's narrow up, it's wide below.
It's pointed straight at outer space.
ClueThe fin at the bottom left is the Mobile corner reaching the Gulf. Huntsville, up top, built the rockets that went to the moon.
capitalJackson
You need a jack to pull that tall boot off. JACK's son.
The Tall Boot with the Wavy Lace
A tall boot standing straight and thin,
The lace all wiggled down one side.
It hasn't got a foot inside.
It's waiting for the river's tide.
ClueThe wavy west edge is the Mississippi River. The state is named for it.
capitalBaton Rouge
In the armchair sits a man waving a bright red baton. BATON, ROUGE for red.
The Big Armchair
An armchair, comfortable and wide,
A footstool sitting to the side.
The bottom's soft and spreading out
Where all the water pushes out.
ClueThe spreading bottom is the Mississippi Delta, where the river dumps into the Gulf.
Michigan · Ohio · Indiana · Kentucky · Tennessee
capitalLansing
The mitten snatches a lance right out of the air. LANCE-ing.
The Mitten and the Hound
A mitten dropped beside the water,
Thumb held out to catch the rain.
And up above — look up — a hound
Is sniffing north across the plain.
ClueTwo pieces. The mitten is the Lower Peninsula; the thumb is Saginaw Bay. The hound is the Upper Peninsula.
capitalColumbus
Columbus sails his ship straight through the middle of the heart. COLUMBUS.
The Heart
A heart, a little lopsided,
Tipped over, resting on its side.
It beats right in the middle there.
It's why they call it Heart-of-Everywhere.
ClueThe bottom curve is the Ohio River. The top edge is Lake Erie.
capitalIndianapolis
A freebie — the torch's city has the state's own name inside it. INDIANA-polis.
The Torch
A torch held up above the crowd,
Flame at the top, burning proud.
The handle narrows going down
Until it touches river ground.
ClueThe narrowing bottom is the Ohio River. The torch is on Indiana's own state flag.
capitalFrankfort
It isn't chicken on that drumstick, it's a frankfurter, locked inside a fort. FRANK-fort.
The Drumstick
A drumstick, meaty, thick, and long,
The bone stuck out toward the west.
Somebody's dinner, still not eaten,
Left out on the mapping desk.
ClueThe thin western bone is the Jackson Purchase, wrapped by the Mississippi River.
capitalNashville
The guitar's strings are nailed flat to the neck. NASH-ville.
The Guitar Neck
A guitar neck laid flat and long,
The frets marked out in straight-line rows.
Run one finger down the length —
That's how the whole state's music goes.
ClueLong and straight, east to west. The frets are the state lines; eight states touch it.
Wisconsin · Illinois · Iowa · Missouri · Arkansas
capitalMadison
The rabbit sitting up is a mad rabbit — the March Hare himself. MAD-ison.
The Rabbit Sitting Up
A rabbit sat up straight to see,
One ear stuck out toward the lake.
He's watching something. Watching hard.
He'll bolt the moment branches break.
ClueThe ear is the Door Peninsula, reaching northeast into Lake Michigan.
capitalSpringfield
A coiled spring bursts out of the stocking and lands in a field. SPRING-field.
The Stocking
A stocking hung up by the fire,
Long and tall and getting higher.
The toe points down, the top is wide.
Something big got stuffed inside.
ClueThe wide top corner is Chicago. The whole east edge is the Wabash and the Ohio River.
capitalDes Moines
The piglet lets out one long moan. Duh-MOAN.
The Piglet
A piglet, plump and pink and round,
Two rivers washing either side.
It wiggles left, it wiggles right,
It's fat with corn and full of pride.
ClueWavy on both sides — the Missouri River west, the Mississippi River east.
capitalJefferson City
The boot that stomped is Jefferson's — he bought all this land. JEFFERSON.
The Stomping Boot Heel
A boot came down and stomped the ground
And left the heel print sticking out.
It's off the bottom, on the right.
Once you have seen it, there's no doubt.
ClueIt is actually called the Bootheel — a square of land hanging off the southeast corner.
capitalLittle Rock
A diamond is just a little rock. LITTLE ROCK.
The Diamond
Turn it. Tip it. Squint your eye.
A diamond glitters, dropped and dry.
And here's the thing that no one knows —
There's real ones buried down below.
ClueRoughly square, tilted. Crater of Diamonds is the only public diamond mine in America.
Minnesota · North Dakota · South Dakota · Wyoming · Nebraska
capitalSt. Paul
Paul Bunyan walks up and the wolf lies down at his feet. St. PAUL.
The Wolf's Head
A wolf looks west with jaw held wide,
One ear stuck up above his eye.
He doesn't blink. He doesn't move.
Ten thousand lakes reflect the sky.
ClueThe jaw is the Arrowhead, jutting into Lake Superior. The ear is the Northwest Angle, that little box on top.
capitalBismarck
Someone left a biscuit on the sled, and it left its mark. BIS-MARK.
The Sled
A sled left flat out in the snow,
Straight on the top, straight down below.
It waits all winter, still and wide,
For somebody to take a ride.
ClueThe Red River makes the wavy east edge — the only bend on an otherwise flat sled.
capitalPierre
The rug's frayed edge is a pier sticking out over the water. PIER.
The Torn Rug
A rug pulled straight across the floor,
But something chewed the bottom door.
The top is neat. The bottom's frayed.
Look close — there's faces in the shade.
ClueThe frayed bottom is the Missouri River. The faces are Mount Rushmore, off in the west.
capitalCheyenne
Shy Anne wipes her feet on the welcome mat and won't come in. SHY-ANNE.
The Welcome Mat
Four corners cut with perfect care,
No bumps, no bends, no wiggle there.
A mat laid flat outside the door —
Wipe both your boots, then two feet more.
ClueNo rivers, no coastline. Every border is a straight line drawn with a ruler.
capitalLincoln
The sitting hen isn't on eggs — she's on a nest of Lincoln Logs. LINCOLN.
The Sitting Hen
A hen sat down and tucked her feet,
Her tail feathers long and neat.
She won't get up. She won't be moved.
There's something under her she's proved.
ClueThe tail feathers are the Nebraska Panhandle, sticking west into Wyoming's corner.
Kansas · Oklahoma · Texas · Colorado · New Mexico
capitalTopeka
A bird pecked the top of the bread. That's the bite. TOP-PECK-a.
The Slice of Bread
A slice of bread, still soft and square,
But someone took a nibble there —
One corner gone, one small bite missing.
A mouse got in. You'll hear it hissing.
ClueThe notch in the northeast corner is where the Missouri River bends around.
capitalOklahoma City
A freebie — the frying pan's city has the state's own name inside it. OKLAHOMA CITY.
The Frying Pan
A frying pan laid on its side,
The handle long, the pan part wide.
Whoever cooked here cooked a lot —
And left the handle out to rot.
ClueThe long thin handle to the west is the Oklahoma Panhandle. Say it: pan — and handle.
capitalAustin
One spoonful of that chili and you are all stung. AW-STIN.
The Pot of Chili
A great big pot, still on the flame,
Its handle poking up the same.
It's twice as wide as any pot,
And everything inside is hot.
ClueThe handle is the Panhandle. The point at the bottom is where the Rio Grande turns south.
capitalDenver
Stack the bricks a mile high and that's the city. DEN-ver, the Mile High City.
The Brick
A brick. That's it. A solid brick.
No curve, no coast, no wandering nick.
But stand it up and look inside —
The mountains split it, side to side.
ClueStraight lines on all four sides. The Rockies run down the middle, north to south.
capitalSanta Fe
Who else delivers a wrapped present? SANTA Fe.
The Wrapped Present
A present wrapped in paper square,
No bow, no name, no ribbon there.
It's plain outside. But shake it — hear?
The whole desert is in there.
ClueNearly a perfect square. The only nick is the small step in the southwest corner.
Utah · Arizona · Nevada · California · Hawaii
capitalSalt Lake City
Set the stool down right beside a great salty lake. SALT LAKE CITY.
The Stool
A three-legged stool, but something's wrong —
A square chunk missing all along
The upper right, like someone ate it.
Sit down slow. Don't overweight it.
ClueThe missing chunk is the corner Wyoming takes out of the northeast.
capitalPhoenix
Open the treasure chest and a phoenix bursts out of it. PHOENIX.
The Treasure Chest
A chest set down with lid ajar,
The bottom scraped and split and scarred.
Whatever's in it, dry and old —
The scratch across is worth its gold.
ClueThe jagged lower-left scar is the Colorado River — and the Grand Canyon is inside.
capitalCarson City
The slice of pie arrives by car, driven by somebody's son. CAR-SON.
The Slice of Pie
Somebody cut a slice too thin,
Then tipped the plate and slid it in.
Wide at the top, sharp at the toe,
The driest slice you'll ever know.
ClueThe sharp point at the south is where the Colorado River carves the corner away.
capitalSacramento
The long bent arm reaches down and grabs a sack of mints. SACK-ra-MENTO.
The Long Bent Arm
An arm reached down along the sea,
Bent at the elbow, long and lean,
It dipped its fingers in the waves
To hold the ocean, cold and green.
ClueThe elbow bends near Cape Mendocino. The fingertips are San Diego.
capitalHonolulu
You hand somebody the lei and say hello to Lulu. Ho-no-LULU.
The Lei
A necklace slipped from someone's hand
And scattered flowers, strand by strand.
They floated out, they didn't sink,
Eight blossoms strung on ocean's link.
ClueEight main islands, curving southeast to northwest like beads on a broken string.
Montana · Idaho · Washington · Oregon · Alaska
capitalHelena
The bison's name is Helen. HELEN-a.
The Bison Head
A bison lifts his shaggy crown,
One horn hooked up, one shoulder down.
He's wide across, he's built to last,
He faces west against the blast.
ClueThe hooked horn is the northwest corner, where the Rockies push up into Glacier.
capitalBoise
It takes two boys to lift that axe. BOY-see.
The Axe
An axe head, heavy, wide, and low,
A handle rising through the snow.
It leans against the mountainside.
Don't touch the blade. It's sharp. It's wide.
ClueThe handle is the narrow northern panhandle. The head is the wide south.
capitalOlympia
The bite out of the apple was taken by an Olympian. O-LYMPIA.
The Apple with a Bite
Someone was hungry. Someone bit.
They took a chunk right out of it.
An apple, sitting on the shelf,
With one bite gone — go look yourself.
ClueThe bite is Puget Sound, a great arm of the sea chewed inland from the west.
capitalSalem
The beaver slaps its flat tail and sails 'em all downstream. SAIL-'em.
The Beaver's Flat Tail
A beaver slaps and dives from view
And leaves his flat tail lying through.
The top edge ripples, wet and thin —
That's water where the tail dips in.
ClueThe rippled top edge is the Columbia River, running the whole northern border.
capitalJuneau
D'you know there's a woolly mammoth up here? JUNE-oh.
The Woolly Mammoth
A mammoth stomped up to the top
And got so cold it couldn't stop.
Its trunk swings out, its tail hangs down,
Its long hair trails and drags around.
ClueThe trunk is the Alaska Peninsula. The tail is the Panhandle. The trailing hair is the Aleutian Islands.
Bennett rolled the map back up.
The lamp burned low. The night was deep.
And Kodiak said, “Well? What'd you find?”
And Bennett grinned. “I couldn't sleep.”
“There's fifty things out there,” he said.
“A mitten. A pan. A wolf. A pear.
And now I've seen them, that's the thing —
I can't unsee them. They're all there.”
Blaze curled up. The fire went out.
Outside, the country lay flat and wide.
Fifty shapes across the dark,
Each with something tucked inside.
I will fear nothing. He is with me.
Print this page and tape it inside the binder. Check them off as they're found.
| # | Wk | State | Capital | Hidden thing | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Maine | Augusta | The Lobster Claw | |
| 2 | 1 | New Hampshire | Concord | The Tent | |
| 3 | 1 | Massachusetts | Boston | The Flintlock | |
| 4 | 1 | Rhode Island | Providence | The Little Anchor | |
| 5 | 1 | Connecticut | Hartford | The Suitcase | |
| 6 | 2 | Vermont | Montpelier | The Ice Cream Cone | |
| 7 | 2 | New York | Albany | The Crouching Cat | |
| 8 | 2 | New Jersey | Trenton | The Pear | |
| 9 | 2 | Pennsylvania | Harrisburg | The Keystone | |
| 10 | 2 | Delaware | Dover | The Little Mouse | |
| 11 | 3 | Maryland | Annapolis | The Crab | |
| 12 | 3 | Virginia | Richmond | The Slice of Pie | |
| 13 | 3 | West Virginia | Charleston | The Leaping Frog | |
| 14 | 3 | North Carolina | Raleigh | The Wing | |
| 15 | 3 | South Carolina | Columbia | The Sail | |
| 16 | 4 | Georgia | Atlanta | The Peach | |
| 17 | 4 | Florida | Tallahassee | The Thumb in the Ocean | |
| 18 | 4 | Alabama | Montgomery | The Rocket | |
| 19 | 4 | Mississippi | Jackson | The Tall Boot with the Wavy Lace | |
| 20 | 4 | Louisiana | Baton Rouge | The Big Armchair | |
| 21 | 5 | Michigan | Lansing | The Mitten and the Hound | |
| 22 | 5 | Ohio | Columbus | The Heart | |
| 23 | 5 | Indiana | Indianapolis | The Torch | |
| 24 | 5 | Kentucky | Frankfort | The Drumstick | |
| 25 | 5 | Tennessee | Nashville | The Guitar Neck | |
| 26 | 6 | Wisconsin | Madison | The Rabbit Sitting Up | |
| 27 | 6 | Illinois | Springfield | The Stocking | |
| 28 | 6 | Iowa | Des Moines | The Piglet | |
| 29 | 6 | Missouri | Jefferson City | The Stomping Boot Heel | |
| 30 | 6 | Arkansas | Little Rock | The Diamond | |
| 31 | 7 | Minnesota | St. Paul | The Wolf's Head | |
| 32 | 7 | North Dakota | Bismarck | The Sled | |
| 33 | 7 | South Dakota | Pierre | The Torn Rug | |
| 34 | 7 | Wyoming | Cheyenne | The Welcome Mat | |
| 35 | 7 | Nebraska | Lincoln | The Sitting Hen | |
| 36 | 8 | Kansas | Topeka | The Slice of Bread | |
| 37 | 8 | Oklahoma | Oklahoma City | The Frying Pan | |
| 38 | 8 | Texas | Austin | The Pot of Chili | |
| 39 | 8 | Colorado | Denver | The Brick | |
| 40 | 8 | New Mexico | Santa Fe | The Wrapped Present | |
| 41 | 9 | Utah | Salt Lake City | The Stool | |
| 42 | 9 | Arizona | Phoenix | The Treasure Chest | |
| 43 | 9 | Nevada | Carson City | The Slice of Pie | |
| 44 | 9 | California | Sacramento | The Long Bent Arm | |
| 45 | 9 | Hawaii | Honolulu | The Lei | |
| 46 | 10 | Montana | Helena | The Bison Head | |
| 47 | 10 | Idaho | Boise | The Axe | |
| 48 | 10 | Washington | Olympia | The Apple with a Bite | |
| 49 | 10 | Oregon | Salem | The Beaver's Flat Tail | |
| 50 | 10 | Alaska | Juneau | The Woolly Mammoth |
It's on the map, between Maryland and Virginia — a small diamond bitten out of Maryland's side. It isn't a state, so it isn't a shape in this book. But a sharp child will find it and ask. The answer is: it's the buckle, and the map is the belt.
Five states a week, ten weeks, matching the Cycle 3 sequence. Week 11 leaves the states behind for the Appalachians.
Add capitals in a second pass, after the shapes are solid. Not both at once.
New York (Albany), Pennsylvania (Harrisburg), Maryland (Annapolis), Florida (Tallahassee), Michigan (Lansing), Illinois (Springfield), Missouri (Jefferson City), Texas (Austin), Nevada (Carson City), California (Sacramento), Washington (Olympia), Oregon (Salem), Alaska (Juneau).
In every one of these, the capital is not the city the child has heard of. That is where essentially every wrong answer comes from. Teach them as a named set — knowing which ones are booby-trapped is itself a memory aid, and he'll enjoy being in on it.
Three rules, and they matter more than the links themselves. The object has to be in the picture — if he pictures a spring in a field with no stocking, the chain breaks at the first link. Use motion, not portraits: a mitten snatching a lance beats a mitten holding one. And his own image always beats mine, so give him the pun and let him build the picture out loud.
Then make him retrieve it cold. Reading a link again is not practice. Covering the page and pulling it out of nothing is. Space it: same day, two days, a week, a month.
Michigan's mitten, Oklahoma's pan, the Massachusetts flintlock, and Florida's thumb are real — a child sees them instantly. Nebraska as a sitting hen and Connecticut as a suitcase are forced. Have him redraw those. The ones he invents himself are the ones he'll still have at forty.