Come with Me to New York gets 4 Stars {Picture Book}

July is the month of vacations and traveling.  I have friends and family seeing how the sun rarely sets in gorgeous Alaska, and hiking Machu Picchu in Peru.  I wish I was in both places, but since I am not the next best thing is reading about all of the cool places one can go.  

Come With Me to New York by Gloria Fowler is what I like to call a travel book for the young highlighting all the great tourist destinations in a city.  Fowler's City Series (which I'll be reviewing Paris on Friday, and I hope to get my hands on London coming out this Fall) has such a beautiful graphic design and the same fun rhyming text.  

I give this book 4 out of 5 Stars in my book review,and it earned that high rating for many reasons.  

I absolutely love the detail and artwork on the inside covers.  I love the map of New York City (NYC) that continues from the front to back inside cover.  I love the iconic details like the Brooklyn Bridge and Central Park.  I love seeing China Town and the Chrysler Building on the map.  The inside covers makes me swoon a bit; their bright bold colors with the graphic look on a map is perfect.

To be honest I think the illustrations by Min Heo are really what steals the show with this book and helps it score so high.  

The overall design of the book is perfection, and the design is consistent with the two books in the series that I've read.  
   

I think the rhyming text is fun, and the way Gloria Fowler incorporates all of the major tourist sites such as climbing the Statue of Liberty, eating hot dogs from street vendors, walking the Brooklyn Bridge, riding a Taxi, dealing with the crazy traffic, the lights on Times Square and  seeing a show on Broadway are just a few of the locations and tourist experiences she touched on.  Fowler really made the "travel" part of the book a lot of fun, and the rhyming of the text is ideal for early literacy development.

The main reason, Come With Me to New York lost a point in my review was because the text seemed a bit random. The text had no real storyline, even though I think it tried with the different seasons mentioned, and the order of the different places seemed quite random. I'm sure making a travel book for kids and have a storyline is tough, but that is what would deserve 5 stars in my book.   

All in all, I think this picture book would be ideal for toddlers up to 6th grade visiting one of these cities.  It would be really great if a parent got this book for his or her child when they are planning on making a trip to New York City (Paris, or London with the other books) so the child has some information, presented in a fun way, on the place they are traveling to.   

I love the extra information on each "Famous Sight Featured in this Book."  It really helps to give more of that Travel/Tourist informational book feel in a very kid friendly way.  

Amazon had the following book description: 

"Parents and young readers will skip along through this cheery rhyming story, as they discover an impressive list of stunning sights throughout New York City. The journey begins with an exciting invitation:

New York is one of my favorite cities of all;
Please come visit, winter, spring, summer, or fall.
We can see the whole island of Manhattan together.

Come with me, we’ll have fun, whatever the weather! Children will enjoy an introduction to historical landmarks and begin to identify each iconic image with the famous Big Apple. Colorful and whimsical illustrations portray appealing attractions throughout the city, including: the Statue of Liberty, Empire State Building, Central Park, and many more!"

This book really is fun, and it would be perfect for a kid visiting that city.  I also think a teacher could use this book for a writing prompt or project idea.  A teacher, probably upper elementary or middle school, could have the kids write their own tourist picture books.   The students could write rhyming text that highlight the major sites in that city, state, or even historical time period/event.  It could be a lot of fun for the kids and the teacher.  I imagine social studies/history teachers having a blast with that lesson idea. 

Happy Travel Book Reading for Kids and I hope you get to Come With Me to New York in real life or just through this book.  Either way, I think you'll enjoy them.    

Do you have a favorite NYC tourist location?  

I think walking across the Brooklyn Bridge and getting some NYC pizza after at a small restaurant "Under" the Brooklyn Bridge is my favorite memory of NYC.  However, I do love that city (and all the good food) so it was hard for me to choose. 



I received this book from Myrick Marketing in exchange for an honest review.  All thoughts and opinions are mine.