PreS-Gr 1 This cleverly designed board book will delight young readers and grown-ups alike. Readers accompany a grandfather and his two children as they explore the big city via various modes of transportation at street level and aboveground and belowground. Peskimo's vivid palette and playful cartoon art bring the metropolis and all of its diverse inhabitants to life. Cutout shapes and varied peek-through designs allow children to predict what will be revealed on the following page. The simple text and accompanying illustrations make this an excellent choice for beginning readers or as a read-aloud. City kids will be able to relate to their familiar sights, sounds, and landmarks, and this makes a fine introduction for rural and suburban children, who can make comparisons to their towns. VERDICT A wonderful addition to any preschool collection.— Maria Alegre, The Dalton School, New York City

The latest addition to Franceschelli and Peskimo's (Dinoblock, 2015, etc.) collection of very thick board books exploits all the possibilities of the format. The initial foldouts reveal a question—"How will we get around?"—and hint at modes of transportation to come: subway, taxi, bus, ferry, foot, and helicopter. That would be enough for most board books, but the story continues with "What can we do?" and "What should we eat?" before the final 20-inch panorama of the city at night. Along the way, the design team Peskimo varies its retro palette depending on the image. A carousel is bright and lively, while the view from an observatory is more muted. Shades of blue and turquoise on almost every page act as a visual throughline, and die cuts keep young children turning the pages. The story follows a white-haired, spectacled elder (who looks rather like Albert Einstein) and two children—one white, one brown—through a busy day in a diverse city. They visit dinosaurs in a natural history museum, a soccer game, a flea market, and more. That they visit a bookstore instead of a library and shop for souvenirs suggest that perhaps they are tourists. Their day's menu includes common treats: an apple, pizza, nachos, sushi, and ice cream. Children in urban settings will recognize this city's feel, while suburban or rural children will be equally happy to join in the adventure. (Board book. 1-4)

Franceschelli celebrates the sights, tastes, and vehicles of the city in this follow-up to Alphablock, Countablock, and Dinoblock, again illustrated by British design team Peskimo. Clever, well-designed die-cuts bring readers deeper into each scene while creating a guessing game to participate in: often, large die-cut objects in the foreground (a soccer ball, a pair of chopsticks) swing out of the way to reveal their locations (the stadium, a Japanese restaurant). As readers follow an elderly man and two children around town, they get a taste of crowded subways, all manner of street food, and multiple ways to see the city, including from a helicopter. It-s a big urban adventure in a small package. Ages 3-5. (Sept.)