Here are 100 books that I Am the Subway fans have personally recommended if you like
I Am the Subway.
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I never thought much about what makes our cities habitable until I started doing research for The Great Stink. But learning about sewers and wastewater treatment (They’re surprisingly interesting!) turned out to be the beginning of a fascination with other types of city infrastructure that I had previously ignored. Kids have a natural fascination for infrastructure of all kinds, but I was surprised when I couldn’t find any lists of picture books that group different types of city infrastructure together. So, I made one. I hope you and your little ones like these books as much as I did, and I hope you find many similar books to enjoy!
A nonfiction book in rhyme for the very young, Roadworkdoes double duty as a fun read-aloud with plenty of Onomatopoeia (Bump! Whump! Whop!) and an educational book about the road building process. The book takes readers all the way from planning the road and marking it on the map to planting trees, installing signs, and celebrating a job well done. (Toot! Honk! Vroom!) Kids will love the colorful illustrations–especially all the trucks–and even parents might learn a thing or two about how we build our roads. A page of “Machine Facts” towards the back of the book describes each truck or tractor seen throughout the book and gives a quick explanation of what the machines do.
1
author picked
Roadwork
as one of their favorite books, and they share
why you should read it.
This book is for kids age
2,
3,
4, and
5.
What is this book about?
Load the dirt. Load the dirt. Scoop and swing and drop. Slam it down into the truck. Bump! Whump! Whop!
There are many big machines and busy people involved in building a road, and this riveting board book follows them every step of the way. From clearing a pathway (screek!) to rolling the tar (squelch!) to sweeping up at the end (swish!), Roadwork is sure to delight young truck-lovers with its rambunctious rhymes and noisy fun.
I never thought much about what makes our cities habitable until I started doing research for The Great Stink. But learning about sewers and wastewater treatment (They’re surprisingly interesting!) turned out to be the beginning of a fascination with other types of city infrastructure that I had previously ignored. Kids have a natural fascination for infrastructure of all kinds, but I was surprised when I couldn’t find any lists of picture books that group different types of city infrastructure together. So, I made one. I hope you and your little ones like these books as much as I did, and I hope you find many similar books to enjoy!
What I love about this book is that instead of focusing on the engineers, architects, artists, and other high-profile designers who tend to get the credit for creating so much of what we see in our cities–it focuses on the laborers who take their plans and make them a reality. Someone Builds the Dream will get kids (and their parents) thinking more about the building process and the people who spend their days putting together the parts of the many buildings, bridges, fountains, and other structures that come together to create a city. Young children will love the rhyming text and older ones will find much to wonder about as they scan the vibrant illustrations.
All across this great big world, jobs are getting done
by many hands in many lands. It takes much more than ONE.
Gorgeously written and illustrated, this is an eye-opening exploration of the many types of work that go into building our world - from the making of a bridge to a wind farm, an amusement park, and even the very picture book that you are reading. An architect may dream up the plans for a house, but someone has to actually work the saws and pound the nails. This book is a thank-you to the skilled women and men…
I've been obsessed with the material aspects of places - and the infrastructures that make them work - since I was a really young boy! (I remember, aged around 7, sitting on a bridge over the M6 motorway near Preston watching the traffic). This obsession was channeled into studying Geography, becoming a qualified urban planner, and completing a Ph.D. on how digital technologies effect urban life. A preoccupation with the subterranean realms of cities is also long-standing; it drove the 'Below' parts of my 2016 book Vertical: The City From Satellites to Bunkers. (I must admit I suffer from both claustropobia and vertigo! So, sadly, a lot of my work is necessarily desk-based!)
Because the ground itself obscures virtually all of the subterranean worlds of cities, the best way to actually represent and visualise them is through drawings and diagrams.
This book opened my eyes – as it has done for many – to the complexity, density, and depth of the foundations, pipes, tunnels, conduits, and infrastructures below cities.
In it, David Macaulay uses his unequalled drawing skills to illustrate everything from sewer valves; skyscraper foundations; the worlds beneath manholes to an amazing cross-section of New York showing shipping lanes, deep transport tunnels, and huge skyscrapers whose hidden, deep pile foundations can be almost as deep as their above-surface structures.
David Macaulay takes us on a visual journey through a city's various support systems by exposing a typical section of the underground network and explaining how it works. We see a network of walls, columns, cables, pipes and tunnels required to satisfy the basic needs of a city's inhabitants.
I never thought much about what makes our cities habitable until I started doing research for The Great Stink. But learning about sewers and wastewater treatment (They’re surprisingly interesting!) turned out to be the beginning of a fascination with other types of city infrastructure that I had previously ignored. Kids have a natural fascination for infrastructure of all kinds, but I was surprised when I couldn’t find any lists of picture books that group different types of city infrastructure together. So, I made one. I hope you and your little ones like these books as much as I did, and I hope you find many similar books to enjoy!
No one plans a school field trip like Miss Frizzle! In The Magic School Bus at the Waterworks, her students ride their amazing, magical bus to a cloud in the sky, where they experience the path of a drop of water, first as rain, then through a purification system, then through underground pipes all the way back to the school bathroom. There’s a lot more that happens along the way and the illustrations are really helpful at showing this complex process. It’s fun and it’s educational. A win for both parents and kids!
To celebrate its 20th anniversary, Scholastic is re-releasing the ten original Magic School Bus titles in paperback. With updated scientific information, the bestselling science series ever is back!
The classic title that started the award-winning series! Join Ms. Frizzle and her students as they follow the trail of water, from its sky-high source to the school bathroom sink on this wet and wild fieldtrip. After parking the school bus on a cloud and shrinking to raindrop size, Ms. Frizzle's class gets to see the waterworks from the water's point of view.Don't miss the all-new Magic School Bus: Rides Again book…
Over 5 million children in the United States have had at least one parent in a correctional facility at one time or another. These children, and their parents, are our neighbors, our family, our friends. We might see them at a soccer match, or sit beside them at public libraries, or gather together with them regularly in prayer. They need to see themselves portrayed in a meaningful manner in the books they read. This shortlist includes two picture books, a middle-grade novel, and two young adult titles. I'm passionate about books on this topic because equity and inclusiveness and vital to me; and because I think excellent books such as these may enable us to start nuanced discussions and enhance our compassion.
This book, like the author’s award-winning Last Stop On Market Street, features a child taking a trip on public transportation to an unknown destination. Milo, the protagonist, imagines where his fellow passengers are headed in language that is believably childlike but also fresh and vivid. He is heading to prison, to meet his mother – and the surprise ending to this book begs the question of who has a right to judge anyone else, and sends a gentle but powerful message against making conclusions about people based on appearance.
Milo is on a long subway ride with his older sister. To pass the time, he studies the faces around him and makes pictures of their lives. There's the whiskered man with the crossword puzzle; Milo imagines him playing solitaire in a cluttered apartment full of pets. There's the wedding-dressed woman with a little dog peeking out of her handbag; Milo imagines her in a grand cathedral ceremony. And then there's the boy in the suit with the bright white sneakers; Milo imagines him arriving home to a castle with a drawbridge and a butler. But when the boy in…
I have published over 50 books, including award-winning and bestselling titles. I am also a publishing executive and editor with 20+ years of professional experience. My latest The Twins of Auschwitz: The Inspiring True Story of Young Girl Surviving Mengele’s Hell, with Eva Kor, got a stellar review by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and is an international bestseller. As well as spearheading four publishing startups, I have run my own business, Editorial Services of L.A. I was Editorial/Publishing Director for Golden Books, Price Stern Sloan, Intervisual Books, Hooked on Phonics, and more. I am also the Publisher & Editor in Chief of NY Journal Of Books, the premier online-only book review site.
Written and illustrated by David Shannon, this delightful story is about a “temporary fairy” who aims to be a “permanent fairy,” but can’t quite seem to get there. Using a wand and ordinary items from her world, she effects “magic” on everything she touches, to measurable success—except when she turns a white dress into a red one and The Duchess locks her into a tower. (She escapes.) A fun story for fairy lovers!
Caldecott Honor artist and bestselling author David Shannon's warm and funny new picture book introduces Alice, a mischievous little girl with a "No, David" nose for trouble and a magic wand.
Alice has a nose for trouble, but luckily she's a fairy--a Temporary Fairy. She has a magic wand, fairy wings, and a blanket, all of which she uses to disappear, to fly, to transform her dad into a horse, and to turn his cookies into her own! There are still a few things Alice needs to learn to become a Permanent Fairy, like how to float her dog on…
It’s often said that it takes a village to raise a child. I grew up in an intergenerational family in India. Grandparents, aunts, and uncles provided that extended community. Grandparents can pass down traditions, ensuring the preservation of culture. Stories that speak to the reality of multi-generational households can normalize and celebrate the presence of elders. The number of Americans living in multigenerational households is about four times larger than it was in the 1970s, yet the educational potential and the joy of these relationships are often ignored in literature.
I loved that the heroine of this story, Martina, is a quiet, imaginative little girl. In contrast, she has loud, rambunctious Tias. So, she slips away at a party and finds a quiet place to imagine. This rollicking picture book reimagines the familiar Caribbean folktale, la Cucaracha Martina. The illustrations are bold and lively, and they are also available in Spanish.
A quiet girl overwhelmed by her rambunctious family finds a magical land of solitude only to discover what truly makes a home a home in this lively and magical bilingual picture book that reimagines the beloved Caribbean folktale “La Cucaracha Martina.”
Martina does not like parties. Parties are full of tías with their flashy fashions and boom-and-bellow laughter that’s too much for quiet Martina. At least with all that noise, no one notices when she slips away. She finds herself in a magical place: a warm, familiar island where she can finally play in peace and quiet. Martina is home…
I expect that the folks at Shepherd.com approached me as a picture book author, since I’m the author of eleven picture books, including the four books of the Vampirina Ballerina series, which were adapted into the Disney Junior hit series Vampirina. But my thoughts and ideas about friendship and community really stem from once having been a child myself and from being a parent of four children, each of whom approached the roller coaster ride of childhood friendship in their unique ways. I was always happy to help them find answers in a book, even when those answers involved more, and deeper, questions.
An unnamed imaginary friend waits and waits for a child to choose him; but when he has waited long enough, he sets out on an adventure into the real world to find his Alice. The sweetness of Alice and Beekle’s new friendship is heartwarming, made all the sweeter by the wait. Beekle won the Caldecott Medal, so it won’t surprise you that the illustrations are brilliant. Santat’s use of shadow and color is just mesmerizing.
This magical story begins on an island far away where an imaginary friend is born. He patiently waits his turn to be chosen by a real child, but when he is overlooked time and again, he sets off on an incredible journey to the bustling city, where he finally meets his perfect match and-at long last-is given his special name: Beekle. New York Times bestselling and award-winning author and illustrator Dan Santat combines classic storytelling with breathtaking art, creating an unforgettable tale about friendship, imagination, and the courage to find one's place in the world.
I was bullied as a child, both at home and in school. My parents always took my little sister’s side, and punished me. When I got bullied at school, my parents and teachers just told me to work harder on throwing a ball. My escape was books. I found it reassuring that kids in books who got bullied survived and learned and had fun in their lives even if they also had to deal with bullying.
Nico is a nature lover. At recess, he doesn’t always want to swing on the swings. Sometimes he wants to sit and watch ants carrying seeds to their anthills.
One day birds come up to him. He enjoys the birds. The other kids call him “bird boy.” He knows they are teasing him. He knows they are being mean. But he thinks about what the words mean. And he surprises himself by smiling.
After that, he not only watches birds, he pretends to be different birds. A few other children become fascinated by his imagination. They like him for who he is. Birds and all.
1
author picked
Bird Boy
as one of their favorite books, and they share
why you should read it.
This book is for kids age
4,
5,
6, and
7.
What is this book about?
Take flight in this heartwarming story about a boy who learns to be true to himself at school while following his love of nature.
Nico was new, and nervous about going to school. Everyone knew what to do and where to go, but Nico felt a little lost.
So, he did what he loved to do: Watched the insects Sat in the grass And most importantly... befriended the birds.
Before he knew it, Nico was known as BIRD BOY. But Nico didn't mind. Soon, he made one friend, then two, as the other kids learned to appreciate Nico for who…
I often turned to my imagination when I was a child. Nobody Can Take My Happy Awaywas inspired by the times I was bullied. My peers teased me about my clothes, my teeth, my home, and how I talked. I wanted to hide from everyone, so I had fewer opportunities to make friends. Because I lived in my own head, I found acceptance in the world of make-believe. I read books about strange worlds with characters that thrived in their surroundings. Eventually, it didn’t matter if someone teased me at school. Reading these books helped me be myself. I found strength in being the odd one out.
This interactive book inspired me to look at ordinary things in a new way. The pictures are great, they take you to new places using everyday things and people as a stepping stone. My favorite part of the book is the dial that allows you to switch faces. Common objects take on a whole new life in this book. I remember having a lot of fun looking at it.
This book felt more like playtime than reading, and that’s what I loved about it when I was a child. It made me decide to be an author and illustrator creating imaginative books. The style and theme of this book are my ideal inspiration for future projects. I want to write stories that exist for the sake of making happy memories.
Inspiring, intriguing, endlessly entertaining -- Norman Messenger's interactive book allows us to step out of our everyday lives, shed our preconceptions, and experience a little magic.
IMAGINE . . . a ladder without steps, a clock without hands, a racket without strings, a kiss without a mouth. Imagine a world where the hills have faces and wherever you went, you'd have someone to talk to. Imagine flipping a series of flaps to form fantastical creatures or turning a wheel to fit the top of one face on the bottom of another. Imagine that Norman Messenger's quirky, humorous suggestions, ingenious visual…
