Customer Reviews

My New York

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I purchased this book in NYC a week ago and just tossed it in the trash; wish I had viewed more carefully before purchasing. Should have known when I saw "Celebrity Centre" noted on the lovely map on the inside cover. My suspicions were confirmed with the depiction of John Travolta & family on the following page, billboards for "Dianetics" in the New Years' Eve/Times Square scene, etc. No thanks.

Recently, I visited New York City for the first time. I've seen tall buildings before, I've seen crowded urban areas before, and I've even seen NYC before...though only in the movies. There is nothing quite like it, and there really is a electric feeling of energy, combined with architectural wonders, street vendors, Central Park (along with great baseball fans, and very friendly people).

I mention all this becasue "My New York" is an eye-popping, dazzling work that reaches out to you like your first ice cream sundae. At the bottom of each page, Kathy Jacobsen describes (through her narrator, "Becky") the sometimes majestic scenes that she experienced in her eight year stay in the city. The book focuses on Manhattan, fans of Brooklyn and Queens, etc. might feel slighted. Her elaborate, often densely populated pictures include the public library (the one picture where she errs--see below), the zoo on Fifth Avenue and 64th street (there's a nice map of Manhattan in the beginning), an intimate view of the D'Aluto cheesecake store, the underbelly of the aircraft carrier, "Intrepid," a three-panel foldout of the Empire State Building, with a similarly sized view from the top of the building on the opposite side!

Like a Florence Ziegfield show, the can-you-top-this pictures (and the nicely-pitched descriptions) don't let up. There's the inside of the FAO Schwarz toy store, three or four stories showing on one page! Th Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island. bird's-eye view of July 4th fireworks exploding over the tall ships and the Manhattan skyline, Central Park, dinosaurs in the atural History Museum, the MET, the Apollo Theater in Harlem (advertising "Amateur Niht"), a nighttime parade in Chinatown, and, of course, RADIO CITY MUSIC HALL and the ROCKETTES doing a Christmas program! Yet there's more, including the Macy's parade, the New Year's Eve ball dropping in Times Square, and games and facts at the conclusion. The book seems longer than it is because of the exciting, detailed pictures--it's almost too much to read at one time.

I agree that the book has too many sly references to friends and who-knows-what other allusions to things that Ms. Jacobsen enjoys or wants to promote. While this is somewhat of a tradition in kids' books, she really overdoes it here. Yet this is a problem only on the opening spread showing the New York Public Library; elsewhere the references are either more subdued or more publicly known. The Public Library spread is annoying also because she includes some very vague-looking drawings of celebrities, whom you can try to locate if you choose. Still, the excessive nature of this scene is easily overlooked given the talent and energy that Ms. Jacobsen brings to the rest of the book.

"My New York is very attractively priced as of this date, and the varied references (sigh--but no Yankee Stadium) will appeal to kids with different interests. Also, I don't think the pictures are in the "folk art" style; the shadings, contrasts, and slightly loopy drawings of people (think "Nancy" or "Little Orphan Annie") evince more of a very early comic strip sensibility. Ultimately, this is a very satisfying book, a large and luminous look at the grandeur of New York City. I think I'll be going back there soon.

I have often used the original edition of My New York as a gift for both adults and children who visit our home in New York City.

It's nice to have more of Jakobsen's comforting, folksy art in the anniversary edition, but if you purchase it, my advice is to try to ignore the gazillion little ads and words in the new paintings - especially on taxis and buses, and even on the kids' balloons. It seems as if Jakobsen couldn't resist the temptation to include the name of every friend and relative somewhere in the book, and to promote her own favorite websites and companies, rather than allowing the reader to simply enjoy her depictions of New York City.

It may sound picky, but all those little words and ads make the pictures more cluttered and pulls one's eye away from the more important parts of each scene. And it really wasn't necessary for Jakobsen to paint an ad for another of her books, and an ad for her publisher Little, Brown, on the side of a bus going down Fifth Avenue (see the Plaza Hotel page)! Yes, New York City is, in reality, cluttered with advertising, but folk art and indiscriminate advertising aren't a lovely combination.

The beauty of the first book was that the "My" in "My New York" was every reader who loves New York and enjoys Jakobsen's paintings. The book's title and artwork were a perfect combination. The "My" in the anniversary edition is Kathy Jakobsen herself, and all the friends, relatives, publishers, etc that she managed to squeeze in!

I've given this book to many little children who have come to visit me in Manhattan. Little kids love this book as well as Lisa in New York, and "big kids" (ages 8 to 12) love Melanie in Manhattan which is a children's novel about a double love story set in NYC. (The narrator, Melanie Martin, is 11.) All these books make great gifts for tourists (and natives), and My New York provides lots of fun for detail-oriented kids who really love looking at picturebooks.

The pictures are colorful, very detailed, and are a lot of fun to look at. It's narrated by a little girl who's venturing the famous sites of NYC. I had fun reading it and I'm
sure kids will like it. I got the new anniversary edition. I really recommend it. NYC may change years from now. This book captures and reminisces our exciting city during our time...2002.

This is a beautiful book, full of detailed illustrations kids love to explore. Parents should note that not only is it littered with promotional messages, but that several of them promote Scientology/L. Ron Hubbard/Dianetics.

While this book is designed for children, adults will love the beautiful illustrations - - the detail on them is magnificent. The author captures the essence of a wonderful city with her text and paintings. Our son is fascinated by New York City and this book is a wonderful way for him to "visit" his favorite city as often as he pleases. I wish I'd found this two years ago!

I thought that this was an excellent book. The pictures are great. I read it to my kids before visiting New York and after reading the book my kids could not wait to see all of the places that we read about. My daughter was especially thrilled to ride the same horse on the central park carousel that the little girl in the book rode.

I searched for this beautiful book after seeing Ms.Jakobson's paintings featured in Country Living Magazine. I was not disappointed. I've read this informative story with its unbelievable illustrations to my class every year since then. It's like owning a private collection of her wonderful work

The idea of the story is very cute. A letter is written to a friend that will be coming to NYC. The pictures, though, are wonderful. The are very colorful and take you all over the city. Love this book!