Next Stop Grand Central

by Maira Kalman

At Grand Central Station, Chief of Police George Coppola finds lost people, and Mr. Chidchester, head of the Lost and Found, finds lost dogs. Marino Marino makes oyster stew, while thinking up interesting math problems. A man in a porkpie hat buys cherry pies. Maira Kalman 's stylized artwork, along with entertaining text, brilliantly captures the excitement of Grand Central Station, "the busiest, fastest, biggest place there is."

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, New York, Art, Nonfiction, Trains, Transport

40 pages, Paperback

First published January 25, 1999

About the author

Maira Kalman was born in Tel Aviv and moved to New York with her family at the age of four. She has worked as a designer, author, illustrator and artist for more than thirty years without formal training. Her work is a narrative journal of her life and all its absurdities. She has written and illustrated twelve children's books including Ooh-la-la- Max in Love, What Pete Ate, and Swami on Rye. She often illustrates for The New Yorker magazine, and is well known for her collaboration with Rick Meyerowitz on the NewYorkistan cover in 2001. Recent projects include The Elements of Style (illustrated), and a monthly on-line column entitled Principles of Uncertainty for The New York Times.

She lives in New York and walks a lot.

(http://www.saulgallery.com)

Reviews

[Amy Allgeier · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was ALL.OVER.THE.PLACE. It just had too many quirky sayings throughout the book. I know kids like that type of thing, but I think it was just too over the top. Great idea to celebrate such a fantastic building, but just not for me.

[Edward Sullivan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A frantic, crowded, whimsical, entertaining celebration of Grand Central. Love the behidn-the-scenes look at the people who keep the station running. Reissued for the Grand Central centennial.

[F · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is more than a book, and more than a story - it's an abundance of stories, a glorious, exhilarating multiplicity of stories set in New York City's Grand Central Station. I visited Grand Central on holiday with my sister back in 2007, and let me tell you, it is a wonder of design and logicstics, the clam chowder they serve at the oyster bar is *chef's kiss* and as we boarded our train it felt like we were part of something big and exciting - the collective simultaneous thrill of many journeys starting at once.

(Can you tell I miss travelling?)

Maira Kalman's artwork is startlingly vivid - it's so evocative of the atmosphere of the station and the inner lives of the people passing through. She is affectionate and imaginative and quirky and fabulous - I'm a huge fan of all her work, but this book is a particularly fun one to share with primary school aged readers.

"Trains are trips. And trips are adventures.
And adventures are new ideas and romance and you can't ever know what in the world will happen which is exactly why you are going."

I'm so looking forward to boarding a train again. I can hardly wait for all the adventures yet to come.

[Shallowreader VaVeros · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ebook version of this classic picture book was absolutely delightful. The constant scrolling across the picture book's pages rather than turning the pages allowed for a beautiful continuity of story and movement in Grand Central station, a place that encompasses the constant movement of people in its place. Lovely!

[Emerson and Theodore · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a grand central enthusiast I really appreciated this book. The featured characters seemed to be real people as I recognized the counter chefs at the oyster bar. Yum. Very nice drawings.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not recommended for a group story time, but a solid picture to introduce children to train travel.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super pretty book, great colours

[C · Rating 5 out of 5]

The spirit of NY contained in this little book.

[Liese · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just the best. The silliest and most informative book about an iconic site that totally changed my sense of it and made me want to go see it as soon as possible.

[Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

She is a clever author and this book does not disappoint.

[Meredith · Rating 5 out of 5]

My mom grew up in Brooklyn and the majority of her friends still live in New York and in the North East. Perhaps my favorite of her friends, who still lives in New York, bough this book for my sister and I when we were little.

I'd always remembered loving it, but I hadn't read it in probably a good 5 or 6 years. When going through our old picture books the other day (sad, I know), I came across Next Stop, Grand Central once more, and was brought back to the quirkiness that is Maira Kalman with all her cooky characters and bizarre drawings. And yet it perfectly describes Grand Central Station and even New York in general.

It's a very eccentric book and the pictures are very unique and fun to look at. I especially love how they have these little details, which are like little secrets for children. You know, like how as a child you notice the little things, but as we get older we tend to be more focused on the big picture.

It is a very random assortment of Grand Central Station, but I think that is indeed why I loved it so much when I was little. There's so much to see, and you can look at all the people with their odd names and personalities. The best one is the lady bringing her lemon to the opera. I also adore how you are on the train with your friend, Gus, and a giant chicken is blocking your way. I have a good friend names Gus. That might be why I like that page so much.

I also found some other Maira Kalman books when going through our picture books (including the book about Pete who also appears in Grand Central). But I must say, that Next Stop, Grand Central is certainly the best.

Our copy of Next Stop, Grand Central has been very loved over the years and has some nice crayon and pencil marks as well as an abundance of mysterious smudges. But I am pleased to say that our copy of Next Stop, Grand Central will be staying in the picture book "keep" pile. And hopefully I will be enjoying it's quirkiness for years to come.

[Emmeline Guest · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adore ANYTHING Maira Kalman, but this is one of my favorites, simple because it is my son's favorite.

I get to check out the wonderful, whimsical, and wacky illustrations of Maira Kalman, and he gets to learn all about Grand Central station. I can see the words zip, rush, zoom off the page into his imagination.

Kalman is not known for her typical children's stories, and this book is no different - there is no "all aboard" or "chug chug chug" in this story, instead Kalman creates a chaotic world full of facts (the average number of trains that come and go through Grand Central in just one day) and silly fantasy (a giant chicken on the train tracks!).

Every child's library (public, academic, personal) - should own every Maira Kalman book.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a really fun and different story to read to children. It shows them the aspects of travel through train at Grand Central in New York and describes all the many people who are traveling, as well as why they are traveling and where they may be going (on a business trip, to see family, to meet a lover after a trip, etc.) It's exciting to read with children because they can see a different method of transportation as well as the diversity of people going from one place to another. The language in this book is also quite captivating; there are lots of different word structures, styles, and repetition which make it exciting to read and a good example of writing to use in the classroom.

[Nicole Cingiser · Rating 5 out of 5]

Maira Kalman is among my favorite writers/artists/thinkers, and her work for children and adults is equally engaging. Next Stop, Grand Central has so much to offer to its readers. Rich language, whimsical illustrations, insight into how a complex institution (Grand Central Terminal and the associated railroads) works, and connection to the geography of the area are among some of the things that I love about the book. It's great fun to read aloud (especially names that include Zagwat Holstein, and Mrs. Clarence Pffafenburger), and the illustrations have so many details that children enjoy looking at it independently as well.

[Olivia Lagore · Rating 3 out of 5]

Told with humor and warmth, this book is filled with fun illustrations and an equally fun story, telling about the lives of the people who travel through, work in, and visit Grand Central Station. The story does not really have a main character, except perhaps for the station itself, but this adds to the charm. It feels as though the narrator has sat in the station for years, watching and getting to know everyone, and is now showing us around and introducing us.
This book will appeal to any "watcher", but could also be a good book to read to very young children to teach them about public transportation in a fun way.

[Rachael · Rating 5 out of 5]

Look at all the people you might encounter at the train station! It takes lots of people to keep things running smoothly and cleanly.

A dramatic play station/center around the idea of a train station - this book would be great to read as an introduction, prior to modeling the behavior that might be seen in the center. Also, important to leave in or near the station, or in the reading/writing area for students to identify words or pictures that they may want to write about. Reflection on play time.

[Abby Kenski · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have always loved New York City, it's one of my favorite places in the world. I was really excited when I found this, because it describes the fast pace lives of people in NYC, how they travel, their lifestyle, work, and their visit to Grand Central Station. As I read this story, it was very accurate about how the author described and made Grand Central look. It felt as if I was there again. What I also really liked about this book was that it also added a lot of humor to it and the words throughout the book are as fast pace as the people within NYC.

[Lillian Collier · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great picture book which may be best for older students, but can also be enjoyed by young students. The illustrations include multiple cultures, the vocabulary is rich, and the writing has strong voice. This would be a great model for writing about a place, or for persuasive writing. This text could be used for a million different purposes- connections, prompts for writing or discussion, use of time, etc.

[Patricia Baker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Received this book in the mail today as a winner of the Bookish 12 Days of Giveaways. Thank you Bookish.

Loved this hardback book about Grand Central. Lived for a while in NJ and went thru this big place once. Such a huge building with many nations of people moving to and from places. Love all the names of the characters on the pages. drawings are interesting. Script and font is fun to read.

Will be taking this book with me when I visit my grandsons in Oklahoma this weekend.

[Maria · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across Next Stop Grand Central while I was shelving the picture books this afternoon. Ms. Kalman manages to capture the frenetic pace of Grand Central Station in her illustrations, while telling the story of what you might encounter during one day at the station.

Great to share with just one or a larger group too.

[Emilia P · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh god, man.
He's growing to grow up to be a famous scientist because he eats his beets, indeed.
This book is a wonderful, busy, bustling, free-form slice of life of the train station after which it is named. Oh man, did it make me want to jump on a train right now. Yes it did.
Maira, will you write my biography? Or... just. Anything. Can we hang out? Call me maybeee.

[Nancy Kotkin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I've spent some time in Grand Central Station, New York; it's a wonderful setting for a children's picture book about train stations and travel. I wish the art conveyed a more realistic depiction of the actual location, rather than all the random images of people with odd names. But I love the uniquely styled copyright page.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful children's book which really captures the flavor of Grand Central Station--the wide variety of people who pass through, and the many different activities going on at the same time. I love Kalman's illustrations and I think children would be captivated by the little details.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another beautifully fun book from Maira Kalman. An invitation for the reader to visit Grand Central Station in New York. Introduces the reader to the people who help keep Grand Central moving. Talks about the people who pass through on their way to work and life.

[Becca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Any book that makes milk come out of Walker's nose is A-OK! When we first got some of her books the boys were too young-they were just too long and twisty. Now they love them. We have to go back to the shelves and dig out the rest. Just remember to not drink milk while reading them.

[Marcie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could see using this prior to any field trip to talk about being an observer. It also might be useful when talking about jobs or community helpers. Although I've only beem to Grand Central once, this was the most artistic creation of the felling I got.

[Paul · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book doesn't look or read like so many children's books. It's not cute or linear, but there is a visual energy and wit that is paired with an affectionate look at the place, the employees, and passers-through who populate this NYC fixture.

[Virginia · Rating 5 out of 5]

all of her books are so smart and full of suprises, i wish i had grown up with them in my life.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maria Kalman books are always great - for kids and their parents. (Guaranteed to not make your eyes glaze over - you'll get a kick out of her books as much as your kids will!)

[courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

i wish maira kalman was my aunt.