I’ve been reading to my son since the day we brought him home from the hospital, and by now we’ve accumulated well over 100 books. But the ones that remain his favorites are the ones about city life. And by favorites, I mean the ones he will not slap out of my hand when we’re in the middle of reading them.— (He seems to dislike certain pages in some books and will scream “no” when we get to them…) Perhaps he likes the NYC books because they each manage to have a picture of a taxi–and he’s a typical boy obsessed with cars and trucks. But whatever the reason for their popularity, I’ve come to love our city-themed books, too. Here are five of our favorites–they are all great for infants, toddlers, and preschoolers and would make great gifts, too!
Subway by Karen Katz, illustrated by Anastasia Suen. My son is mesmerized by this colorful book that follows a mom and her child on their trip underground. Watch as they pay their fare, pile into the train with the other passengers, and transfer to another train on their way to their destination. I like that you can pick a passenger to watch and follow–like a guy listening to his headphones or a lady with a cat poking out of her purse.
ABC New York by Joanne Dugan. The work of a New York City-based photographer, this book features museum-quality photos of New York City life, with each photo representing a letter of the alphabet. Many of the photos are of everyday things, like “M” for manhole cover and “B” for bagel. There are a few photos of kids too, like a little boy riding up an escalator.
Good Night New York City by Adam Gamble and Joe Veno. The well-known “Good Night” series seems to have a book for every city and state. The New York City version features colorful illustrations that capture classic city experiences, including watching a Broadway show, making sandcastles on Coney Island, and having confetti rain down on you on New Year’s Eve in Times Square. I like the last page featuring a typical city block with “goodnight” scenes in each apartment window.
123 New York: A Cool Counting Book illustrated by Kevin Somers. This simple but vivid and colorful book teaches kids to count to 10 by using iconic New York City symbols, from water towers to taxis to hot dogs. Of course my son’s favorite page is the one with five taxis on it!
ABC-NYC: Travel Guide For Kids by Matthew G. Rosenberger. This tiny
tome–more like a brochure than a book–captures all the sights a visitor might see on a trip
to the big city. There are pictures of everything from
pastrami sandwiches to the Children’s Museum of the Arts to the Atlas statue in front of Rockefeller
Center. Every picture represents a letter of the alphabet.
