LISTEN TO THE CITY

Using the Pop Art style she displayed to such terrific effect in ABC Pop! (1999) Isadora makes another vibrant series of images with just enough words to get those toddlers jumping. “Rise and shine” says the page with a brrriinnging alarm clock, followed by a page of sizzling bacon and eggs, popping toast, and a hissing kettle. That establishes the retro feel and the onomatopoetic bounce of the rest of the book, from the “whoop whoop” of a helicopter to the clomp and tap of dozens of pairs of shoes on the sidewalk to traffic and construction noises. The colors are primary and secondary hues in great geometric swathes and shapes, with the characteristic bold outlines, and dots and dashes, of Pop art and comics. Some words are in neat word balloons; others, in psychedelic neon, balloon across the page or dance over an image. The city is clearly inspired by New York, even though the library lion recumbent seems to be sitting in a park, and the garbage trucks aren’t usually yellow. City kids will revel, and all kids will delight in the colors, shapes, and sounds of this pulsating tour de force. (Picture book. 3-8)