This book is a collection of poems inspired by cities across the world. Artwork to go along with each poem depicting life in that city: horns blaring in Paris, riding a crowded subway in Mexico City, bright lights in Tokyo, and a ride along the Venetian in a gondola. An illustrated dog with a backpack gets to explore each of the cities and is featured on each page. Wonderful examples of different forms of poetry to share with young students. Students can also explore the flow of text throughout the pages, which often correlates with the text. ( )

The poem collection is about different things, noises, and places in the city. While the images show different cities around the world.

There weren’t many options for children’s poetry in the poetry section of the Issaquah library so I wasn’t able to find a book within the 2012-2017 year bracket. There were only a few volumes designated J and I picked one whose cover caught my eye. The art is simple and whimsical yet conveys exactly the main feeling of each short poem. Each illustration includes a dog who travels to cities around the world. Two of my favorites are “Kite” about a kite flying in sky in Egypt and “Snow City” set in Toronto.

The illustrations give nods to various cities around the world, including London, Mexico City, and Cairo. The poems highlight cities in general, and some are specific to features that most cities have (like food carts, bridges, and zoos). The poems are mostly clusters of colorful imagery and personification, mostly in free-style forms. Some of the poems are somewhat melancholy, but most are lively and clever.

This book can help students see the similarities in cities all around the world. The illustrations really help bring this collection alive!