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Overview
In this handy-size book, renowned critic and historian (and New Yorker) Leonard S. Marcus has created and narrated twenty walking tours of New York City based on children's literature. Illustrated with maps, photographs, and book art, the tours can be followed from start to finish or abbreviated to suit a reader's, or a family's, particular interests. Together they feature over one hundred places and spaces by which New York has lit the imaginations of writers and artists as varied as E. B. White, Maurice Sendak, Judy Blume, Faith Ringgold, Madeleine L'Engle, and many more. Along the way, Marcus deftly discusses more than two hundred of the best books about New York City ever written for young people.
About the Author:
Leonard S. Marcus is one of the most respected historians and critics in the field of children's books. His recently published Ways of Telling: Conversations on the Art of the Picture Book, was starred in School Library Journal as "highly readable, often humorous, and intensely rewarding."
In this handy-size book, renowned critic and historian (and New Yorker) Leonard S. Marcus has created and narrated twenty walking tours of New York City based on children's literature. Illustrated with maps, photographs, and book art, the tours can be followed from start to finish or abbreviated to suit a reader's or a family's, particular interests. Together they feature over one hundred places and spaces by which New York has lit the imaginations of writers and artists as varied as E. B. White, Maurice Sendak, Judy Blume, Faith Ringgold, Madeleine L'Engle, and many more. Along the way, Marcus deftly discusses more than two hundred of the best books about New York City ever written for young people.
Editorials
Publishers Weekly
Children's book lovers will discover the Big Apple anew through Leonard S. Marcus's Storied City: A Children's Book Walking Tour Guide to New York City. Readers are directed to the row house (280 W. 12th Street) where Robert McCloskey created the art for Make Way for Ducklings, using Long Island ducks-not Bostonians-as his models. They can sail a toy boat in the Conservatory Water, the Central Park pond famously enjoyed by Stuart Little. Marcus proves an entertaining and erudite guide who fills this volume (narrow enough to fit in a pocket) with amusing anecdotes. Closing sidebars provide additional resources on areas of the city as well as literary characters who live there; photos of the city and appropriate artwork enliven the presentation. Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.Children's Literature
New York emerges as the energetic main character in this unique and innovative guidebook. Marcus not only celebrates the astonishing number of children's books set in New York; he effectively brings the richness of this city to all parts of the country. It is arranged by neighborhood, and includes all five boroughs of New York City. The text is just chock filled with well researched as well as anecdotal information. Although specific traveling directions are included, families can share the tours virtually as well; one never has to leave the comfort of an armchair to enjoy all the literary action set in NYC. Maps, illustrations, and an extensive bibliography in addition to source notes and an index add to the utility of this guide. Once again, Marcus has made children's literature accessible to a wider audience, and thereby elevated children's books to a more respected status. This should find a welcome spot in every literature as well as travel collection. 2003, Dutton, Ages all.—Micki S. Nevett
School Library Journal
Gr 4 Up-Including both fiction and nonfiction, some popular titles and some less well known, Marcus has created a fascinating array of walking tours of New York City. The scope of this project is huge, and while not every literary landmark has been included, the author hits highlights in many of the neighborhoods of the city. Touring through each section, Marcus introduces history, characters, authors, anecdotes, quotes, and often parts of the specific stories from children's books. There are also maps and many illustrations from the books featured. Aficionados of children's literature will enjoy this title, as will city children and their families, or visitors familiar with these famous scenes and stories. This guide can be used as a resource while touring specific locations, or as an interesting history, and can be an armchair tour if preferred. Historical background on authors, illustrators, and publishing helps tie the books into the history of the city, and a bibliography of children's books set in New York City is included. Don't come to town without this handy guide.-JoAnn Jonas, Chula Vista Public Library, San Diego, CA Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.Kirkus Reviews
More than 200 books for children and teens make their appearance in Marcus’s affectionate and limpidly clear walking tour of the literary sidewalks of New York. Excellent, wide-ranging, brilliantly and carefully done, Marcus leaves no scholarly stone unturned. Beginning in lower Manhattan and proceeding to its tip, and exploring the outer boroughs of Staten Island, Queens, Brooklyn, and the Bronx, Marcus explains exactly how to get there (subway and bus stops, directions, number of blocks to walk) and what you will see once you do. In Lower Manhattan, the African Burial Ground recalls Breaking Ground, Breaking Silence, Chinatown and Little Italy bring to mind Peppe the Lamplighter and My Chinatown. He’s absolutely up-to-the-minute, whether questioning Clement Clarke Moore’s authorship of The Night Before Christmas or including Maira Kalman’s Fireboat in his discussion of the World Trade Center disaster. New York’s mosaic of ethnicities and cultures in books for young people are well represented, from Irish and African to Algonquin and Lenape. For wandering about the city, or for answering children’s questions as to whether a place or a moment in New York City literature really exists, this is extremely cool. (bibliography, index, maps) (Reference. All ages)Book Details
Published
May 1, 2003
Publisher
New York : Dutton Children's Books, c2003.
Pages
160
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9780525469247