A City Is - Hardcover

Norman Rosten was a celebrated author, poet, and playwright of adult works, many of which were inspired by his hometown of Brooklyn, New York. The poems for A City Is were collected and edited by Mr. Rosten's daughter, Patricia Rosten Filan, after his death in 1995.

Melanie Hope Greenberg has illustrated a number of children's books, including Bethany Roberts's The Wind's Garden. Shortly after beginning her career as a children's book illustrator, Ms. Greenberg met Norman Rosten at a children's bookstore in Brooklyn. He encouraged her by saying "You're a pro. Would you care to read some of my poems that are appropriate for children?" After several years, those poems became A City Is and, by illustrating them, Ms. Greenberg learned even more about her beloved New York City.

PreSchool-Grade 3-Written in free verse, the selections in this collection of short poems about New York City vary in tone and content. Some are evocative pieces that gently call up images of modern urban life: "A city is/streets crossing,/fire trucks,/bridges,/sirens,/great towers of stone,/and/one red geranium/on a windowsill." Others are specific to New York, describing the Staten Island Ferry ("Hurry, take the ferry!/By day it's cool,/by night it's starry,/and the whistle's always friendly"); local landmarks ("the moon is drifting/like a toy balloon/over the Brooklyn Bridge"); or a "pocket park." Done in colorful gouache, Greenberg's double-page paintings mimic a youngster's two-dimensional style. Observant readers will find the same mother and child in many of the illustrations, quietly connecting one poem to another. These pleasant offerings are suitable for cozy one-on-one sharing. However, the book would also fit nicely in a storytime about urban life, combined, perhaps, with such works as Carole Boston Weatherford's Sidewalk Chalk (2001) or Nikki Grimes's C Is for City (2003, both Boyds Mills).-Roxanne Burg, Orange County Public Library, CA
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