Starred Review Thermes turns from mountains in Grandma Gatewood Hikes the Appalachian Trail (2018) to the history of Manhattan in this oversize, informational picture book. She begins chronologically with the Lenape, the first Native inhabitants, and continues with Henry Hudson's voyage, European colonization, the American and Industrial Revolutions, the Gilded Age, and the present. Throughout, the author considers their presence and impact of Native Americans, African American slaves and settlements, and immigrants on the overarching history of Manhattan. Because it's an island, Thermes highlights the surrounding waterways and animal life, such as the disappearance of beaver from overhunting in the 1800s and their return in 2007. An emphasis is placed on the city's development, from the grid plan of 1811 and the creation of Central Park to the subway system, iconic bridges, and skyscraper skyline. Disasters, including the Great Fire of 1835 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012, show how the city has continually adapted. The book's large scale is perfect for combining these descriptions with watercolor-and-pencil images that depict the island's evolution over time. Thermes, also a map illustrator, shows off her skills with detailed maps that reveal the origins of Broadway, Wall Street, and other landmarks. Endpapers sport a modern-day map of Manhattan, while a time line and other back matter concludes the text. This slice of American history is a gem.

Beavers, oysters, and elm trees; the Lenape people, those who were enslaved, and those who immigrated; and subways, skyscrapers, and Superstorm Sandy fill the pages of a street-by-street chronicle of this incredible island.Thermes opens with glaciers and moves on through the Mannahatta of the Lenape clans and the Manhattan of the Dutch and the English. Central to the formatting of both the book and New York City is the Plan of 1811 that established a grid pattern for the streets of the island north of Lower Manhattan. Central Park is developed, tenements are built to house poor immigrants, subways and bridges expand the island to neighboring locales, and tall buildings fill the horizon. Thermes does not shy from the violence of the city's history, providing, for instance, an informative sidebar about Seneca Village, established by free blacks and destroyed by eminent domain to build Central Park. The highlights of the book are the many sequential maps, drawn in watercolor, pencil, and ink. They include, in very legible hand-lettering, street names and references to sites mentioned in the text. Horses, dogs, and young children, both white and of color, stroll along. Other pages vary from full-page vistas of Central Park, fires, subways, and snowstorms to spot art featuring bridges, birds, and the harbor.The vibrant history that unfolds will hold children's attention through repeated viewings. (afterword, timeline, select sources) (Informational picture book. 7-10)

Beavers, oysters, and elm trees; the Lenape people, those who were enslaved, and those who immigrated; and subways, skyscrapers, and Superstorm Sandy fill the pages of a street-by-street chronicle of this incredible island.Thermes opens with glaciers and moves on through the Mannahatta of the Lenape clans and the Manhattan of the Dutch and the English. Central to the formatting of both the book and New York City is the Plan of 1811 that established a grid pattern for the streets of the island north of Lower Manhattan. Central Park is developed, tenements are built to house poor immigrants, subways and bridges expand the island to neighboring locales, and tall buildings fill the horizon. Thermes does not shy from the violence of the city's history, providing, for instance, an informative sidebar about Seneca Village, established by free blacks and destroyed by eminent domain to build Central Park. The highlights of the book are the many sequential maps, drawn in watercolor, pencil, and ink. They include, in very legible hand-lettering, street names and references to sites mentioned in the text. Horses, dogs, and young children, both white and of color, stroll along. Other pages vary from full-page vistas of Central Park, fires, subways, and snowstorms to spot art featuring bridges, birds, and the harbor.The vibrant history that unfolds will hold children's attention through repeated viewings. (afterword, timeline, select sources) (Informational picture book. 7-10)