Subway by Christoph Niemann (Greenwillow, 2010), was on a new bookshelf recently; it caught my eye because my son (age 3) loves trains and has never yet been exposed to what a subway is. He loves this book! The illustrations are on a black background, with white-painted rounded-edged figures of a parent and two kids, taking a fun excursion on the New York Subway. I haven’t been to New York since I was young and I’ve never ridden the subway, but that did not stop me from enjoying this book, which has plenty of Big Apple place names!
I love the simple art, which looks like posters you’d see for a subway. I also love the little details, like a watch in the midst of the shapes. My favorite page is that in which the train is coming; the artist indicated wind by blurring the white paint of the circle faces. So clever! The author treats taking the subway as a fun family adventure, and I love that emphasis. My son loved finding the letters for the different trains, he loved pretending the train was moving down the track, and he loved pretty much everything about the book. He has frequently requested it in the past weeks.
