EmilyGF Posted February 13, 2015 Share Posted February 13, 2015 It is just me, or do children's book authors generally hate the city? It is OK if you hate the city. I don't. I love living in the city and so do my kids. But when we read books like "Little House" I get so frustrated. What the author sees as craziness, I see as life. What the author sees as quietness, I see as isolation. I know the house couldn't go to the opera or the art museum or the park, but really, she could have taken up people watching. Anyways. Do you know of any children's books that have a positive understanding of living in the city? Ones we've enjoyed are Home by Jeannie Baker and One of a Kind Family. The Ezra Jack Keats picture books and Corduroy both take place in a city. Others? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ALB Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Make Way for Ducklings Papa Piccolo The Little Red Lighthouse and the Great Gray Bridge Mrs. Katz and Tush Mirette on the High Wire Madeline The Red Carpet Little Nino's Pizzeria The Cricket in Times Square Stuart Little Those are ones I can see on my shelves from where I'm sitting. As I look, though, I notice that you are right and most of our books do take place in the country or a small town. Interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eternalsummer Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 I remember one from my childhood - A Tree Grows in Brooklyn? And Madeline L'Engle wrote a lot of books set in NYC, I think - the Camilla books (there was more than one, I am sure). And there's that one about the brother and sister who run away from home and stay in the Met. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soapy Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 From the mixed up files... They run away to the Met and live alone in NYC, so certainly urban. We just finished Little House and followed up with this one. :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
8filltheheart Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 All of a Kind Family Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miss Tick Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 I'm reading Emil and the Detectives. Definitely a positive spin on the city. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CardinalAlt Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Knuffle bunny, I think? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farrar Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 Some not mentioned yet... Chapter books... The Saturdays (NYC, though the sequels are in a small town). Stuart Little (NYC) Harriet the Spy (NYC) A Cricket in Times Square (NYC) Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (NYC - some of the sequels are suburbs) Percy Jackson (many of them take place in NYC) Masterpiece (NYC) The Golden Compass (alternate London!) Mary Poppins (London) Bedknob and Broomstick (long parts in London) 101 Dalmatians (London) A Little Princess (London) Black Hearts in Battersea (another alternate London) Ballet Shoes (London) One Crazy Summer (Oakland - the sequel in NYC) Dragonwings (San Francisco) Chasing Vermeer & The Wright Three (Chicago) The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Paris) Picture Books off the top of my head that haven't been mentioned yet... Eloise (NYC) Dodsworth (various cities) Madlenka (NYC) Blackout (NYC) The Red Balloon (Paris) Here's what's funny about your observation. I remember as a child reading the Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing books and A Girl Called Al and Harriet the Spy a number of other books and feeling like all the books were set in NYC! I thought... man, the city is the place to be! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lara in Colo Posted February 15, 2015 Share Posted February 15, 2015 The School Story Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmilyGF Posted February 15, 2015 Author Share Posted February 15, 2015 Thanks! That is great! I'm hoping to have my kids read Emil (and other books) in German... gotta work on that a bit! Thanks for the reminder of those books. They are great for free-ranging, too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alessandra Posted February 16, 2015 Share Posted February 16, 2015 Some not mentioned yet... Chapter books... The Saturdays (NYC, though the sequels are in a small town). Stuart Little (NYC) Harriet the Spy (NYC) A Cricket in Times Square (NYC) Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing (NYC - some of the sequels are suburbs) Percy Jackson (many of them take place in NYC) Masterpiece (NYC) The Golden Compass (alternate London!) Mary Poppins (London) Bedknob and Broomstick (long parts in London) 101 Dalmatians (London) A Little Princess (London) Black Hearts in Battersea (another alternate London) Ballet Shoes (London) One Crazy Summer (Oakland - the sequel in NYC) Dragonwings (San Francisco) Chasing Vermeer & The Wright Three (Chicago) The Invention of Hugo Cabret (Paris) Picture Books off the top of my head that haven't been mentioned yet... Eloise (NYC) Dodsworth (various cities) Madlenka (NYC) Blackout (NYC) The Red Balloon (Paris) Here's what's funny about your observation. I remember as a child reading the Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothing books and A Girl Called Al and Harriet the Spy a number of other books and feeling like all the books were set in NYC! I thought... man, the city is the place to be! Oh, my, you have listed some of my favorite books! I could add Johanna Hurwitz, Riverside Kids series (NYC, upper west side) Faith Ringold, Tar Baby (NYC, Harlem) Brave Girl (NYC, Triangle factory fire) Olivia, the books. The videos make me sick -- they have not only moved Olivia out of the city, but they have changed her whole sensibility. Olivia reminds me of myself growing up there. Except for the pig part, of course. End of rant. My library has a book on kids books in NYC. It's a guide, so that you can find the actual places. Will try to find title. ETA The book is Storied City. The cover has Lyle, Lyle, Cocodile. http://www.amazon.com/Storied-City-Childrens-Walking-Tour-Guide/dp/0525469249/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1424111058&sr=8-1&keywords=storied+city Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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