A Walk In New York

We have a birthday party to attend on the weekend and I have bought this lovely book for the little fellow who is turning three. His parents have spent a bit of time in New York and adore it so I thought this picture book would be an apt choice for them to enjoy, as well as the birthday boy.

A Walk In New York is a gorgeous large format picture book that, as the title suggests, follows a boy and his father on a walk around Manhattan. Each page spread highlights a different part of the city and even the endpapers are a map so you can follow the journey the boy and his father take. Included, almost hidden, amongst the illustrations in a subtle font are little facts about the landmarks they visit; did you know? - ‘More hot dogs are eaten in New York  than anywhere else in the USA’ or that ‘The library lions (at the New York Public Library) are called Patience and Fortitude. They’re made of pink marble from Tennessee.’

I didn’t know either of those facts or many of the others that author Salvatore Rubbino includes in the book. His painting are gorgeous, colourful and funky – as illustrations of New York should be! He really gives the reader a sense of being on the ground with the boy aand his dad and conjurs up the smells and the sounds of the city. The scale he creates in his paintings is also wonderful with a fold out page of the Empire State Building a definite highlight.

Rubbino has created a book which captures the spirit, the history and the excitement of a beautiful city. I’m sure the little boy whom I have bought this book for will fall in love with the city and dream to visit it one day in the future.