I am an award-winning author of picture books and early readers. I have set my stories in many kinds of locations, including a haunted house, an Eastern European shtetl, an English Renaissance village, and a working cattle ranch. ForWake Up, City, I turned to the setting I know best, the city. I drew on memories of walking to kindergarten in early morning Brooklyn. This book is my love song to cities everywhere. As a lifelong city dweller, I worry about the impact of urban spread on the planet, but I feel hopeful, too, because many cities are becoming more nature and wildlife-friendly. The books I'm excited to share celebrate city wildlife.
Then something changes, something shifts...Like a curtain rising, darkness lifts...Look around! It’s growing light. Wake up, City! Good-by night!
A young girl and her father leave the house in the quiet, pre-dawn darkness. They walk beneath the hazy glow of street lamps, observing rows of cars sleeping “tail to nose” and “sleeping pigeons with tucked in wings.” Slowly, darkness turns to light and the “gumdrop sun” rises, as the city comes magically to life. A woman begins her morning jog, street sweepers whoosh and swoosh down the road, store gates clatter open and trucks deliver crates of colorful produce. Her senses awakened by the sights and sounds of the city, the girl arrives at school, ready for the day. French artist Laure Fournier evokes the awakening city with a childlike sense of wonder, perfectly chosen details, a soft color palette, and a sensitive depiction of the girl and her father.
This is based on the L.A. River (which is undergoing an exciting revitalization) but it could be any industrial downtown: freeways, warehouses, graffiti, smog. A boy discovers a secret place, where a river still runs through a concrete bed. In hushed tones, he tells us who else knows his secret - an egret, a green-winged teal, nesting mallards, coyotes, and possum. The vivid description makes me feel as if I am right there with him, sharing his sense of wonder. This deceptively simple book offers a powerful argument for restoring green space.
Young Theo rescues a bird from a lunging dog, but when he brings her home, his grandmother insists that wild birds should be free. But Old Pearl can no longer fly, and big-hearted Theo makes a compelling argument: “…if we can do something about it...shouldn’t we, Grandma?” Grandma agrees. Bird and boy share a sweet friendship until Old Pearl inevitably dies. Theo’s grieving makes me teary with every reading and his healing lifts my heart. A sensitive story of grief and healing, it’s also a celebration of city nature and the human-animal bond. In an afterword, Wahman provides sound advice and resources on what to do if you find injured wildlife in your city.
Told in lyrical language, two children wander through their city, looking for “wild” and finding it in motion, size, sounds, touch, and smell.“It leaps and pounces and shows its teeth.” The words dance around, hinting at flora and fauna, using adjectives and verbs to suggest and evoke. This journey arouses awareness of the natural world that lives all around us in the city. Young readers will enjoy guessing what is being hinted at. This is such an original way to talk about the urban wild!
A lovely, lyrical picture book with gorgeous illustrations that explores the ways the wild makes itself known to us and how much closer it is than we think.
There are so many places that wild can exist, if only you know where to look! Can you find it? Two kids set off on an adventure away from their urban home and discover all the beauty of the natural world. From the bark on the trees to the sudden storm that moves across the sky to fire and flowers, and snowflakes and fresh fruit. As the children make their way through…
I love fairy tales and this is a fairy tale for our time. Surrounded by skyscrapers, Tokyo wishes his home could be surrounded by nature, just as it was when his grandfather was a boy. When a mysterious woman hands him three wishing seeds, a magical transformation brings. Trees grow taller than buildings, wildflower meadows cover cement, the river flows through the city, and all manner of wildlife romp and climb. When Tokyo’s mother has to take a rowboat to work. Grandfather worries about how they will handle the inconveniences. But Tokyo, whose wish has come true, has words of wisdom: “I think….that we will just have to get used to it.”
Tokyo lives in a small house between giant buildings with his family and his cat, Kevin. For years, highways and skyscrapers have been built up around the family's house where once there were hills and trees. Will they ever experience the natural world again? One day, an old woman offers Tokyo seeds, telling him they will grow into whatever he wishes. Tokyo and his grandfather are astonished when the seeds grow into a forest so lush that it takes over the entire city overnight. Soon the whole city has gone wild, with animals roaming where cars once drove. But is…
A true story about my favorite cougar. P-22, (Puma 22) became famous when he miraculously managed to cross four freeways and make his home in a big city park near downtown Los Angeles. His fame inspired a campaign to build a wildlife crossing between two mountain ranges, over one of the world’s busiest highways. This book tells of P-22 and the scientists who are creating a better future for wild creatures and the humans who love them. I’ve been a fan of P-22 for many years and was thrilled to read this wonderful book about him.
Discover the amazing true story of P-22, the wild cougar living in Los Angeles, in this inspiring picture book.
P-22, the famed “Hollywood Cougar,” was born in a national park near Los Angeles, California. When it was time for him to leave home and stake a claim to his own territory, he embarked on a perilous journey—somehow crossing sixteen lanes of the world’s worst traffic—to make his home in LA’s Griffith Park, overlooking the famed Hollywood sign. But Griffith Park is a tiny territory for a mountain lion, and P-22’s life has been filled with struggles.
Charley Byrne isn’t really living. She hunkers down in her apartment above the bookstore she manages, until quirky activist Xander Wallace lures her out of social exile with the prospect of friendship and romance. Charley joins Xander’s circle of diverse friends and thrives, even leaving her comfort zone to join protests in a city struggling with social justice ills.
But the new friendships bring back-to-back betrayals that threaten the bookstore—Charley’s haven—and propel her into a dangerous depression, in a stark reminder that friendship has the power to destroy as well as save lives. Can her friends save the store? And Charley?
"A beautifully crafted story of friendship and self-discovery set amidst the harsh realities of today's world. Superb!" -Eileen O'Finlan, author of Erin's Children
Charley Byrne isn't really living. At age 29, she hunkers down in her apartment above the bookstore she manages, afraid of a 7-year curse. Then quirky activist Xander Wallace lures her out of social exile with the prospect of friendship and romance. Charley joins Xander's circle of friends diverse in their heritage, race, gender and sexual orientation. She thrives, even leaving her comfort zone to join protests in a city struggling with social justice ills.
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