Subway [Hardcover]

Christoph Niemann (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 2 and up

A father.

Two children.

And more than 840 miles of track.

What does it addup to?

Something thrilling.

Are you ready for Subway?

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Niemann (The Pet Dragon) navigates New York's subterranean system in this playful love letter to public transportation. Readers follow two children and their father, pictured as transit map–style stick figures, who spend a rainy day exploring routes. "Riding the A requires some patience/ if you plan to visit all forty-four stations," they advise. The trains occasionally acquire some light personification ("The 7 is on his way to meet... / his friends at Times Square, 42nd Street!"); after the F and G lines separate at Bergen Street, "The G says, 'Don't cry. I will meet you/ again at Roosevelt Avenue!"). The tone is largely celebratory-- rate hikes and construction don't come up--but Niemann finds pleasure in unexpected places, too ("There are plenty of critters on the tracks of the J/ enjoying the subway all night and all day"). His folksy gouaches are color-coded to match the various subway lines, and his pitchblack backdrops make the colors explode, while alluding to tunnel interiors. An abundance of droll details will delight regular straphangers and stir the imaginations of transportation-obsessed children. Ages 2–5.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1—This colorful, vivacious, child-centered title began with a post on Niemann's blog, Abstract City, in which he describes a day of riding the subway with his two sons just for fun. The artist uses thick gouache paint to render his characters as standard pictograms, akin to those on city signs, with curved edges for hands and feet, and the technique creates a chalky texture that looks like correction fluid. Visual communication lords over the text. Niemann uses many tropes for expression: the youngsters, excited to spend the rainy day on the subway, hi-five. The agony of the adventure coming to an end is punctuated with tears bursting from one son and father dragging the other one, boneless. The spreads of the dedication page, the A train and all its 44 stops, and the wild crisscrossing array of colored lines under Times Square mirroring the famed city lights on the surface, capture the glory of this venerable transportation system. The rhyming text and references to subway lore add chuckles for older readers, but the meter does create an occasional stumble. A sure hit with most youngsters, especially those who are transfixed by trains.—Sara Lissa Paulson, American Sign Language and English Lower School PS 347, New York City
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 2 and up
  
• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Greenwillow Books; 1 edition (May 25, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061577790
• ISBN-13: 978-0061577796
• Product Dimensions: 11.3 x 7.6 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (10 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #64,036 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #80 in Books > Children's Books > Travel & Cultures > Explore the World > United States

More About the Author

Christoph Niemann's illustrations have appeared on the covers of The New Yorker, Wired, Newsweek, The New York Times Magazine and American Illustration. His work has won numerous awards from the American Institute of Graphic Arts, the Art Directors Club and American Illustration. He is the author of several children's books, among them "The Pet Dragon," which teaches Chinese characters to young readers and most recently "I LEGO N.Y", where he depicts New York through ultra minimal lego sculptures. For the Website of the New York Times he writes and illustrates a blog called "Abstract City" . After 11 years in New York, he moved to Berlin with his wife, Lisa, and their three sons. His web site is christophniemann.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Riding the Rails, November 30, 2010

By 

Catherine W. Hughes (Cambridge, MA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Subway (Hardcover)

From dawn to dark, two young children and their father ride the subway all around New York City. Brightly colored illustrations, against a black backdrop, bring the subway lines to life. Young children, from two to five, will adore this adventurous picture book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you are going to New York..., January 14, 2011

By 

M. Heiss (USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Subway (Hardcover)

This book takes three guys (a dad and two sons) off the roads and onto the subways of New York City. The people are drawn as if they are universal sign characters -- like they just stepped off the mens' room door. Amazing how expressive these illustrations are. Great graphic representation of the New York Subway system.

Great book.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sure to enchant children ages 2-5 with its magical maps and mysterious pathways, August 17, 2010

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Subway (Hardcover)

"Subway" is a marvelous kids art-adventure story that describes a rainy day of exploring the New York City subway system by two young boys and their father. Based on the actual experiences of the author and his sons, "Subway" is an ode to the MTA, NYC's wonderful mass transit system, which is described as "a way of life" for New Yorkers. The incredible black and primary colored illustrations keep the illusion of hurtling through the dark tunnels at incredible speeds to predictable destinations. Every page is a graphic tour de force, with careful couplets describing the action of the subway for each separate line. "Subway" is sure to enchant children ages 2-5 with its magical maps and mysterious pathways through the subterranean world of the NYC subway system.