Review by Booklist Review
This cheerful large-format book invites children to join a girl, a boy, and their parents as they see the sights of London. Individual poems introduce the places they visit and reflect their experiences. In Tumbling Thames, a line of verse appears along the river that winds through a bird's-eye view of the city. On the British Museum double-page spread, the haiku Greek Vase accompanies the depiction of an ancient urn: Stuck inside this case, / barefoot runners in a race. / Never-ending chase. The Tube replicates the sounds and sensations of traveling on the Underground. Though the rhyming poems vary in length, meter, and tone, all are pithy, evocative, and enjoyable for reading aloud. Vivid and fresh, the ink-and-watercolor illustrations will engage children with action and lively details within scenes of the city's iconic places. Viewers will enjoy searching the pictures for the comical little raven that follows the family from one destination to the next. While travel guides for children are increasingly hard to find, here's a great option for introducing kids to London.--Phelan, Carolyn Copyright 2017 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-As a family of four spend the day sightseeing in London, each stop of the double-decker bus introduces readers to a new sight, as well as those London absolutes such as rain and a midday pause for tea. Each bus stop is given two pages, and landmarks are indicated with labels reminiscent of street signs, which are painted at the top of the left-hand page. One or more poems highlight each stop, and a variety of poetic forms, including rhyming couplets, limericks, and haiku, as well as changes in poem placement, keep the text fresh. Striking watercolor illustrations in a mix of full-bleed images, vignettes, and spreads complement the poetry, expanding upon the text and creating flow and rhythm. Every few pages, the two work together to produce a particularly playful pairing, such as a shape poem, whose words create the Thames, and a seek-and-find rhyme at Trafalgar Square. Although some of the words may be challenging for newly independent readers, this is a story best shared with an adult. Further facts about each stop of the bus-including a paragraph on the ravens at the Tower of London, which will encourage readers to go back and explore the details of each illustration-are appended. VERDICT A fun family read for future tourists and armchair travelers.-Maggie Mason Smith, Clemson University, SC © Copyright 2017. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A white family of four takes a tourist trip around London. All the famous sights are visited on the big red double-decker bus: the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, the London Eye, the River Thames, Trafalgar Square, Speaker's Corner, the Underground, Piccadilly Circus, the British Museum, St. Paul's Cathedral, the Tate Modern, the Globe theater, Tower Bridge, and the Tower of London. Each spread consists of attractive pen-and-watercolor illustrations of the places visited on the tour, with verse, mostly rhyming couplets, in styles well-suited to each attraction. The spread about the Thames shows a bird's-eye view of the city with evocative text twisting and winding along the contours of the famous river. A similarly lofty view of Trafalgar Square incorporates a "seek and find" feature encouraging readers to look for 10 pigeons, 9 ladies, 8 performers, and so on. The views of the various features of the city are varied and interesting, and multiracial crowds are depicted in several of the images. A detailed compendium of facts about the buildings and features depicted is included at the end. A fun if slightly predictable introduction to the famous city. (Informational picture book. 6-10) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
