Places to Visit - London and New York City

With summer here and places beginning to open up again after being closed to visitors for the past year and a half, it's time to put on our traveling shoes again. Wondering where to go and what to see with the kids? May I suggest New York City? It's big, it's fun and there's lots of things to see and do that are perfect for kids, and I have just the right travel book for the family's visit - Little Kid, Big City! New York. 

Little Kid, Big City! New York

written by Beth Beckman, illustrated by Holley Maher

Quirk Books, 2021, 88 pages

Whether you are a first time visitor or a native New Yorker like I am, this is an ideal book for a family vacation in the Big Apple. Sure, it includes all the usual touristy hotspots, but it also includes places to go and things to eat that many people might not know about or think of doing. And it is chockablock with all kinds of interesting, often historical information about different places.  

Begin with a ride on the Staten Island Ferry for great views of the Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and the NYC skyline. Take a walk across the Brooklyn Bridge, enjoy a bagel like no other in the world in a real New York deli or perhaps a slice of New York style pizza (hint- real New Yorkers fold their pizza in half to eat it). There are places to visit in all the boroughs, like Coney Island in Brooklyn where I recommend the Cyclone and the Wonder Wheel followed by a Nathan's famous (hot dog, that is), or the Bronx Zoo and a game at Yankee Stadium or Citi Field for Mets fans. The beauty of this travel book is that you decide where to go. In the lower corner of each right hand page are two suggestions of where to go next. There are museums to see, and now even Broadway shows are beginning to open again. 

There are no photographs of any of the sights, but the illustrations, done in a limited color palette, are whimsical and have definite child appeal. Our tour guides are a family with a young son and a dog, as well as their friends. The dog isn't leashed which is ok in a book, but DO NOT DO THIS IN REAL LIFE! There is an Adventure Index at the back of the book that gives more details and recommends places to find the food mentioned throughout the book in all the different neighborhoods. And there is a map at the end of the book, but it mostly sights and where they are in the different boroughs (there are five of them). Adults should gets a real map, which includes streets, and a subway and bus map. 

I really enjoyed reading this book and discovered a few facts even I didn't know about. You can download an extensive Travel from Home Activity Kit for Little Kid, Big City! New York HERE

And don't forget to visit The Strand bookstore, where as of June 15th, you could probably find a copy of Little Kid, Big City! London. So,...

Little Kid, Big City! London

by Beth Beckman, illustrated by Holley Maher

Quirk Books, 2021, 88 pages

Following the same chose your own adventure format as Little Kid, Big City! New York,  this book takes us across the ocean to London, England, a city I consider my home away from home and one that I love just as much as NYC. Our guides for our London adventure are an interracial same-sex couple, with their baby and older daughter, and their dog, a corgi. Begin your adventure with a walk over Tower Bridge leading to the Tower of London, and if you're brave enough, you can walk over the high glass walkway and look down on the River Thames. Once in the Tower of London, visit the ravens and the Crown jewels. Hungry? Borough Market has over 100 vendors and a wide variety of different food from around the world. Across the Thames, you can see a Shakespeare play at the Globe Theater, a replica of the original. But on a hot, sunny day, don't buy a standing room only ticket - it get really hot where you stand. 

Westminster Abbey is a must see, there is so much history in this one place. Then head over to the London Eye for a ride or maybe try the world's longest, tallest, fastest tunnel slide - both fun but not for the faint hearted. Kids will want to visit King's Cross Station and take a picture of themselves crossing the portal to the Hogwarts Express, and don't miss a ride of the famous double decker red buses. That top front seat can feel just like a real thrill ride sometimes. Also highlighted are trips to Chinatown, Hamley's for seven floors of toys and games, then stop and enjoy some afternoon tea, and don't forget to try those famous Fish and Chips. 

Like Little Kid, Big City! New York, there is an Adventure Index with more information and recommendations for all the places visited by our family of guides, and the same kind of map showing where the sights are but with not details. Be sure to pick up a real map so you don't waste time getting lost. 

Whether you are venturing out to explore either of these cities or are still an armchair traveler, both of these books are as charming as they are informative and interesting and will surely wake up your wanderlust. 

These books are recommended for kids age 7+

These books were gratefully provided to me by Gabrielle Bujak at Quirk Books

Chains (Seeds of America Trilogy - Book 1) by Laurie Halse Anderson

Much of this review was posted on my other blog, The Children's War, as part of a Revolutionary War Reading Challenge a few years ago.  

Chains is the story of a young slave girl who yearns for freedom.  It takes place during the American Revolution and he time period covered in this first book of a trilogy is May 27, 1776 to January 19, 1777.  

Living in Rhode Island, Isabel, 13, and her younger sister Ruth are quickly sold by a greedy nephew for the money they will bring after their somewhat benevolent owner, Miss Fitch, passes away.  But Miss Fitch had promised them freedom after her death and Isabel can't get that promise out of her head. And unlike most slaves at the time, Isabel knows how to read. 

Now, as the American Revolution begins, the sisters find themselves in a Loyalist household in New York City at the mercy of a cruel mistress, Mrs. Lockton.  The Locktons, who believe their bread is buttered on the side of the Loyalists and King George III, despise the Patriots who want independence from them and everything they stand for.

It isn't long before Isabel meets Curzon, a young slave working for the Patriots, and known for the red tricorn hat he is always seen wearing.  Curzon convinces Isabel to spy on Mr. Lockton, and report anything she hears that might be useful to the Patriots.  Isabel isn't very enthusiastic about doing this, but when she is given the devastating news that Mrs. Lockton has sold Ruth, she changes her mind.  It had just been discovered that Ruth suffers from seizures and the very ignorant, superstitious Mrs. Lockton believes that they are a sign that the devil is in Ruth.

Curson proves to be a good friend to Isabel, although she has very mixed feelings about him, the war between the Patriots and the Loyalists and which side would be most beneficial to her in terms of getting her freedom. 

As the war heats up, so does Isabel's determination to find her sister and, as she is told by an elderly slave known as Grandfather, to find the way to cross her own River Jordan* to freedom.

Chains is written in the first person, so we always know exactly what is going on in Isabel's mind, how she perceives everything around her and, most poignantly, how she feels about the things that happen to her.  But by spying on Mr. Lockton and his friends, we are also given a certain amount of insight into the Loyalist side of things. 

Isabel is a very strong willed girl and Mrs. Lockton knows it and is determined to break that will and so she is constantly trying to tighten the chains of slavery that bind Isabel.  Yet, it takes a while for the realization that Mrs. Lockton cannot chain her soul to really sink in to Isabel's consciousness, even though all her actions had always already proven it to be true.  Her strength in the face of Mrs. Lockton, her wavering between the Patriots and the Loyalists, her determination and her innate sense of kindness despite everything all make Isabel such an exemplary protagonist. 

In fact, Anderson has created a whole cast of characters in Chains who play their parts to perfection.  Set against the backdrop of New York City,  Anderson has written a brilliantly crafted novel in which the fictional walk through the historical and it is spot on.  Anderson has even turned New York into a character in its own right, by staying true to the history of the time (NB: I used to teach New York history to my 4th graders and it was my favorite thing to teach).

One of the things I really liked about Chains were the quotes used at the beginning of each chapter. These quotes are from actual sources of the time that help situate the reader and gives the novel a real feeling of authenticity.

I don't think I could possibly recommend this book highly enough.

Laurie Halse Anderson has excellent teaching resources for Chains, including a section on how to put on a colonial tea (with some really good recipes).  You can find it HERE

This book is recommended for readers aged 10+
This book was purchased for my personal library

*I was talking to a friend about Chains and she said she didn't get the River Jordan reference, which is a reference to God's command that after the death of Moses, Joshua would lead the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt to freedom in the promised land by crossing the River Jordan.

Miracle on 133rd Street by Sonia Manzano, illustrated by Marjorie Priceman

It's Christmas Eve, but living in an apartment in 133rd Street, everything is just too small for a proper celebration - or at least that's how Jose's mother feels - the tree is too small for all the decorations, the oven is too small to cook the roast in.  Mami is definitely unhappy and homesick for Puerto Rico.

But as  José suggests, a pizza oven would cook that roast.  So, he and Papi, also named José, bundle themselves up to head over to Regular Ray's Pizzeria to see if they can use their over.

But before they even leave their building, they meet Mrs. Whitman, from apartment 4B who is tired of all the Christmas racket everywhere, especially in her own apartment and from her own kids.

Next, they meet Mr. and Mrs. Santiago from apartment 3Cwho want to know if something is wrong.  It seems they won't be celebrating Christmas this year because their children won't be coming home.

On the second floor, Mr. Franklin was looking out his peephole to see if someone was being robbed.  And finally from 2B, Mrs. Wozensky complained that Christmas cost too much money, and who that much, anyway?

You would think that having met all that crabbiness and unhappiness, father and son would be feeling pretty down by the time they reached Mr. Ray's Regular Ray's Pizzeria.  But luckily, the pizza oven was free and they roast was successfully roasted, so successfully that it's delicious smell wafted into the noses of Mr. Ray, Mrs. Wozensky, Mr. Franklin, Mr. and Mrs. Santiago and finally Mrs. Whitman.  With a roast so big it wouldn't fit in the oven, there was plenty to eat and all the neighbors accepted the invitation of the father and son to join them for their Christmas Eve celebration, much to Mani's delight.  What good cheer that night was filled with!

I'm a NYC girl and I just love a good story that takes place in my favorite city.  The only thing better than that is a holiday story that really captures the true meaning of Christmas - peace on earth, goodwill towards all people.  And that is just was the two Josés accomplish with one good-smelling roast and lots of Christmas spirit.   And miracle of miracles, even their small apartment was large enough to accommodate such a large group of people - but isn't that what Christmas Eve is all about - miracles?

I love the neighborhood that Sonia Manzano created for her story, a little reminiscent of Sesame Street (where she resided for so many years on TV), reflecting NYC's diversity in the microcosm of one small apartment building.

Majorie Priceman's bright, colorful gouache painting, done in a palette of sparkling Christmasy colors, add so much to the warmth and feeling of community of the story.  They are happy and hectic like the city and the apartment, but with room for everyone.

If you want a Christmas book that isn't about Santa Clause, or just need a break from shopping and mall madness, or maybe just looking for some down time, Miracle on 133rd Street is the book for you.

This book is recommended for readers age 4+
This book was borrowed from a friend
     

Oskar and the Eight Blessings by Richard Simon and Tanya Simon, illustrated by Mark Siegel

Tonight is the seventh night of Hanukkah, so I thought I would share this review of a story that takes place on that night, and that I originally wrote for my other blog, The Children's War.

Shortly after Kristalnacht
(November 9-10, 1938), young Oskar's parents decide to send him to America to live in New York City with his Aunt Esther, whom he has never met.  Before he leaves, his father gives him some parting words of advice:

"Oskar, even in bad times, people can be good. You have to look for the blessings."

Oskar arrives in NYC on the seventh night of Hanukkah, which also happens to be Christmas Eve.  It's a cold, snowy December night and Oskar, who arrived penniless, with only an address and a photo of his aunt, has a long walk up Broadway from the Battery to her house on West 103rd Street before sundown and the lighting of the Hanukkah candles.

Along the way, Oskar finds the blessings his father told him to look for.  Watching an old woman outside Trinity Church feeding pigeons, he eats the bread she hands him to feed the birds.  Seeing him so cold, tired and hungry, she gives him a small loaf of bread to eat.

At a Union Square newsstand, the news dealer gives Oskar the Superman comic he can't pay for but is attracted to.

Later, Oskar has his first "conversation" in America, whistling back and forth with Count Basie outside Carnegie Hall.

Encountering some boys playing in the snow in Central Park, Oskar offers a helping hand to  a boy who has slipped.  Seeing Oskar's frozen hands, the boy gives Oskar his warm mittens and in return, Oskar gives him his Superman comic.

Altogether, Oskar experiences eight blessings (one for each night of Hanukkah) as he journeys up Broadway to 103rd Street.  But, of course, the last and most important blessing is finding his aunt.

The Simon's text is sparse but lyrical, a perfect read aloud book, and the story is carried forward wonderfully by Mark Siegel's paneled illustrations, done in a variety of sizes.  Siegel has rendered the illustrations in greys and earth tones, with splashes of color, so that they convey the overcast cold, snowy day of Oskar's arrival.  He has captured the variety of emotions that Oskar experiences on his long walk - fear, hope, confusion, wonder, surprise, happiness - both in Oksar's demeanor and his facial expression, and sometimes his emotion is only reflected in his eyes.

Oskar and the Eight Blessings works on so many different levels, but mostly it is a beautiful, sensitive Hanukkah story that really demonstrates that it is a season of hope and miracles.  The fact that the seventh night of Hanukkah is Christmas Eve, also a season of hope and miracles, only adds to the ambiance of the blessings.

But Oskar and the Eight Blessings is also a gentle way to begin introducing the Holocaust to young readers by explaining to them what happened on Kristalnacht and why Oskar was sent away by his parents to safety can provide enough information to help with those more difficult discussions later on.

NYC can be a daunting place even today, and I can only imagine what it would have felt like to this young Jewish refugee in 1938, escaping the cruelty of the Nazis who had already been in power since 1933, having no money and not speaking English and looking for an aunt who not only doesn't know him but isn't even expecting him.  But New York can also be magical, especially during the holidays, a place where blessings actually can happen.  Be sure to look at the map of Manhattan to see the places where Oskar's received his blessings in his new world and read the Author's Note for some very interesting background to Oskar and the Eight Blessings.

This book is recommended for readers age 4 to 104 years old
This book was borrowed from a friend

HAPPY SEVENTH NIGHT OF HANUKKAH!

This is book 3 of my #Readukkah Reading Challenge for celebrating Chanukah hosted by the Association of Jewish Libraries