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My New York
The beloved classic celebration of New York City by Kathy Jakobsen.
A young New Yorker writes to her friend from the Midwest to tell about the things they will see in the city... and gives a seek-and-find, kid's eye-view of the Big Apple.
Engagingly described and sumptuously illustrated with paintings full of details to pore over again and again, the city's pleasures almost burst off the the thrill of riding your own special horse on Central Park's colorful carousel, the magic of seeing the spectacular Fourth of July firewords explode over the New York skyline, and much, much more. Oversized fold-out pages of the Empire State Building, the dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History, and Rockefeller Center at Christmastime add to the fun, while a map in the front and fun facts in the back make a helpful guide for visitors and locals alike.
A young New Yorker writes to her friend from the Midwest to tell about the things they will see in the city... and gives a seek-and-find, kid's eye-view of the Big Apple.
Engagingly described and sumptuously illustrated with paintings full of details to pore over again and again, the city's pleasures almost burst off the the thrill of riding your own special horse on Central Park's colorful carousel, the magic of seeing the spectacular Fourth of July firewords explode over the New York skyline, and much, much more. Oversized fold-out pages of the Empire State Building, the dinosaurs at the Museum of Natural History, and Rockefeller Center at Christmastime add to the fun, while a map in the front and fun facts in the back make a helpful guide for visitors and locals alike.
44 pages, Hardcover
First published September 9, 1993
1 person is currently reading
52 people want to read
About the author
Kathy Jakobsen
8 books7 followersKathy Jakobsen is one of the premier folk artists in the United States. She describes her art as “food for the Spirit…I want to create an uplifting, WOW! feeling in the viewer.” Her work has extraordinary visual appeal. The museum of American Folk Art Encyclopedia of Twientieth-Century American Folk Art and Artists states: “Kathy Jakobsen is regarded as one of the best landscape folk painters of the century.”
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
November 28, 2008
Detailed folk-art illustrations and letters written by a fictional young girl convey the vibrance and diversity of New York City.
Recommended for ages 4-8
If you plan to visit New York with your child, if you are from New York and want to share your nostalgia for your hometown with your child, or if you simply want to enjoy what is wonderful about the city without actually going there, this is an ideal book. Kathy Jakobsen's charming and mind-blowingly detailed illustrations show what it looks like above and underground on a busy street. They show the diversity of people, dogs, buildings, and food, from Italian cheesecake to Peking ducks. Flaps open up to reveal the view from the top of the Empire State Building, as well as the brachiosaurus skeleton at the Museum of Natural History and the scaffolding of a skyscraper under construction. Other unusual and interesting paintings of the city include pictures of marathon runners pouring water on themselves as they approach the Queensboro bridge, and a spread of the Central Park zoo. The text is narrated by a girl who is writing to her friend in the Midwest, who will soon visit her. She is a fictional character, but the book is filed under non-fiction because the only purpose of the character is to present the intricacy and fascination of the city. The text is simple and short enough for children aged 4 and up.
A Publisher's Weekly review from 1993 retrieved on Amazon praised the book as a "splendid tribute to the city that never sleeps". The reviewer enjoyed the detailed illustrations as well as the chatty style of the narrator. School Library Journal (also retrieved on Amazon) agreed that the book is a "visual treat". The review offered one criticism of a newer anniversary edition of this book: that the single-page illustrations are less effective than the double-page ones because of the amount of detail in each is so great that one page detracts from the other. Both reviews praised the illustrations but I thought the Publisher's Weekly review gave a better sense of the excitement in this book.
Recommended for ages 4-8
If you plan to visit New York with your child, if you are from New York and want to share your nostalgia for your hometown with your child, or if you simply want to enjoy what is wonderful about the city without actually going there, this is an ideal book. Kathy Jakobsen's charming and mind-blowingly detailed illustrations show what it looks like above and underground on a busy street. They show the diversity of people, dogs, buildings, and food, from Italian cheesecake to Peking ducks. Flaps open up to reveal the view from the top of the Empire State Building, as well as the brachiosaurus skeleton at the Museum of Natural History and the scaffolding of a skyscraper under construction. Other unusual and interesting paintings of the city include pictures of marathon runners pouring water on themselves as they approach the Queensboro bridge, and a spread of the Central Park zoo. The text is narrated by a girl who is writing to her friend in the Midwest, who will soon visit her. She is a fictional character, but the book is filed under non-fiction because the only purpose of the character is to present the intricacy and fascination of the city. The text is simple and short enough for children aged 4 and up.
A Publisher's Weekly review from 1993 retrieved on Amazon praised the book as a "splendid tribute to the city that never sleeps". The reviewer enjoyed the detailed illustrations as well as the chatty style of the narrator. School Library Journal (also retrieved on Amazon) agreed that the book is a "visual treat". The review offered one criticism of a newer anniversary edition of this book: that the single-page illustrations are less effective than the double-page ones because of the amount of detail in each is so great that one page detracts from the other. Both reviews praised the illustrations but I thought the Publisher's Weekly review gave a better sense of the excitement in this book.
December 13, 2015
I love this book
May 2, 2025
This New York gal (first few years anyway), loved stepping back into time with Kathy Jakobsen's illustrations. Here we find Becky, writing to her friend Martin about all of the fun things they can do: go to Central Park, the zoo, Empire State Building, Statue of Liberty, antiquing, and so much more. There are a few places missing here: Broadway - no theatre. Becky would surely loved to see 'Cats!' The book is one year shy of 'Beauty and the Beast', 'Lion King' hadn't hit the stage yet, and 'Annie' wouldn't have had a revival that year, but this Broadway fanatic would have loved a birds-eye view of the marquees and everything!
January 11, 2019
this book has the most stunningly detailed illustrations and also so many cute, interesting facts and anecdotes about the city. beautiful.
March 30, 2011
This is a really incredible book. I have read it with my little cousins who live in New York. The pages are extra long because the illustrations are beautiful paintings of different areas of New York City. It's almost like a Where's Waldo book - the little girl who is new to living in the city talks about her new life there and all the places she goes in the city - Times Square, Ellis Island, the Statue of Liberty, Central Park, museums, Broadway, etc. This is a great book to read with kids so they can get an idea of what New York is like, if they have never been, and find all the things the character does in her adventures.
July 18, 2013
Picked up a slightly battered used copy of this book at Savers recently. (Only thing that needs work is the beautiful centerspread with the Tree at Rockefeller Center, actually.) We saw the newer edition at the NY Public Library gift shop and it might be nice to take a look at it but, for now, we've got this one! Beautiful, beautiful artwork and an excellent souvenir of a trip to the city. I look forward to taking my baby granddaughter there when she's old enough and giving her a copy of this book.
May 18, 2012
What I enjoyed most is that it is from a child’s perspective and feels authentic. It sounds like what a child would share while being informative at the same time. The illustrations are stunning in their attention to detail and the foldouts are so cool. The book concludes with a bonus Fun Facts about New York and a Reader’s Challenge. The author does a spectacular job capturing the cityscapes as well as sharing the sights and sounds of NYC.
February 4, 2014
I love New York so I had to read this book. It is so accurate.The pictures are amazing in it. It is exactly how New York City looks and I like how some of the pages fold out to become much bigger. It is a great way to show kids what New York City is really like. I will be buying this book for my classroom!
October 20, 2009
I bought this for Sophie and Fynn from the Metropolitan Museum of Art gift shop in New York when we were there this past few days. I love this book and everything about the city! It's a great book for kids to help them understand the magic of the city.
April 13, 2014
We loved this book. It was long and very informative and the pictures are amazing. We own several NYC books, but this one has been, by far, the most detailed and descriptive.
February 20, 2015
A great book about some of the most popular parts of NYC
July 22, 2008
we got this book from my in-laws and every time we visit them we go to a new page in the book!
Read
September 21, 2017This book is so beautiful to look at! It has so much detail on every page, you find something new each time you reread it. And this made my kids want to go to New York. :)
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews