City I Love
Bibliography
Hopkins, L. B., & Hall, M. (2009) City I Love. New York: Abrams Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9780810983274
Summary
In this global adventure throughout cities from all over the world, readers are taken through eighteen different poems that capture the artistry, culture, and architect of each city. With a guide dog and bird companion, used similarly to the Where’s Waldo books, readers follow along and take in the sights of each city and what it has to offer. The poems also provide readers with a sense of what life is like living in the city from the sights, sounds, and smells included in them. The illustrations pair perfectly with each poem and define the specific aspect of that city the reader encounters. From tourist destinations like the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco to Big Ben in London, readers of all ages will be captivated by what the book has to offer.
Analysis
City I Love, brings the city to you. With lyrical and free verse poems used in the book, Hopkins delivers a lot of variety to each one. Some elements included in his poems are sound, alliteration, and imagery. Onomatopoeia can be found in many of the poems in the book, including “flitters, twirls, tumbles, and twitters,” from the poem Kite, and “flicker, flash, glitter, gleam,” from the poem City Lights. Alliteration is used well in the poem, From the Ground, to invoke the work of building a new skyscraper; balance on beams/dangle on derricks/glide on girders/ sway on concrete slabs.
The illustrations along with the text are used to create imagery and the images on the pages help the reader imagine how things look and sound. The placement of the text used in the poems are arranged for an appealing, visual design to keep the reader engaged and works well in the book. The poems and illustrations are certainly used to enhance the appeal of the book and does so in a marvelous way.
All eighteen poems written by Hopkins are short, simple, and easy to understand. The globe-trotting journeys the dog, bird, and reader take, celebrate the diverse cultures we have in our world and children of all ages will enjoy this book.
Excerpt
Get’ Em Here
“Hot dogs with sauerkraut
Cold drinks here!”
“Hot dogs with sauerkraut
Get’ em here!”
Shouts the man
as he rolls
city’s smallest store
all tucked neatly
under
a huge, blue-orange striped
umbrella.
Use
The book would be a great addition to a social studies lesson on teaching about maps and globes as well as teaching about countries and cities. Using the front and back endpapers within the book would be an excellent starting point that lists the cities the reader will embark on. This book could also be used to teach about significant landmarks that were featured in the book or other landmarks within the country or city the reader visited.
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