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Publisher’s Weekly: The team behind My Subway Ride offers another infectiously rhythmic and invitingly hip love letter to a distinctly New York experience. The book actually takes readers on two wild journeys simultaneously. One is a literal (who cares what the meter says-) taxicab trip all around the Big Apple, "From Washington Heights to Brooklyn Heights./ Climb on in and see the sights./Moma! Soho! Noho! Dumbo! / All around our New York town!" The other journey is more figurative, as the book initiates readers into the ways of savvy New Yorkers. They'll learn how to spot a taxi (yellow), the importance of being persistent (if a cab turns out to be off duty, "don't despair," because there are more than 12,000 in the city) and, of course, how to get one to pick you up: "Raise your arm and point your finger./ Belt it out like an opera singer:/ Hail taxi! Hey taxi!/ Ho Taxi! Yo Taxi! Whoa taxi! " Once again, Alko is totally in the groove with her co-authors; her multi-media pictures exude a vibe that's both streetwise and celebratory. To convey the city as a non-stop visual feast, she plays with framings, perspective and even gravity (one taxi drives up the side of the Empire State Building). Best of all, her portraits of New Yorkers capture the population's collective best: edgy, blithely multicultural and bighearted as all get-out. Ages 4-8.(Aug.) |
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ForeWord Magazine: “Hail taxi! Hey taxi! Ho taxi! Yo taxi!” begins a madcap ride around New York City in a taxicab. “Where to, Miss? Where to, Mister? Where to, Brother? Where to, Sister? All around our New York town!” Whimsical illustrations of yellow cabs “buzzing around like bumblebees” take readers through the neighborhoods of the Big Apple. Bright colors, fanciful lettering, and people of all shapes, sizes, colors, and ages catch the eye and engage the imagination. Fast-moving rhythms, with taxi-calling refrains, “Hail taxi! Hey taxi! Ho taxi! Yo taxi!” are sure to captivate young readers. The authors, a husband-and-wife team, show their love for their home city in this lively book featuring taxi rides through the Great White Way, Greenwich Village, Museum Mile, and even a traffic jam. Their previous books include My Subway Ride, Children’s Songbag, and Putting on a Play. Jacobs has co-authored four books with musician Pete Seeger, and Swender is a veteran elementary school teacher and curriculum writer. The bold, colorful illustrations include hip multicultural faces and clothing, fresh views of a city from a child’s perspective, and lots of action. The illustrator also provided art for the authors’ book My Subway Ride. Alko captures the flavor of the city in all its glorious foibles, from the collision-induced traffic jam to the glowing Broadway lights to the nose-ring-wearing patrons of the jazz club on Bleeker Street. “We sure did ramble, sure did roam. / Now it’s time to head for home. / Check the meter. Pay the fare. / Exit curbside with great care. / Tip the driver. Tip your hat. / Say good-bye and that is that.” Such lively rhymes will have young readers begging to read this book again and again, and the imaginative illustrations will keep them poring over the pictures long after the words are finished. New York City fans will love these fresh interpretations of the city’s many faces. October 2006 |
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