In the City

Holly James

Hannah Tolson

Bloomsbury, 2020

32pp., pbk., RRP $A14.99

9781526616241

Lucy and Oscar discover there are so many things to see and do in the city , starting with the train ride into the centre, visiting building, picnicking in the park, going on a bus ride and exploring the shops. In this interactive, look and find book, young readers are encouraged to use their observational skills to discover a wide range of elements featured in the illustrations, perhaps even compare and contrast them with what their own experiences of a city excursion. For those who do not live in a city, it helps develop the concept of city life and build vocabulary about what is there, setting them up to transfer this knowledge to other stories  that are set in cities so they have greater understanding, predictability and success with their reading. 

Books like this play a valuable role in helping children’s visual acuity as they search for items, while underscoring the need to search the illustrations for the detail because it is often something that is embedded in them that explains the text, or perhaps contradicts it. They learn that reading is so much more than decoding words. 

One for early readers as well as those learning English as they spot familiar objects and learn the names in their new language.