One night a circus comes to the city. People of all different cultures get together to enjoy it. The pictures by Peter Sis are really interesting. There had different shadows and lights. Each person looks similar to the others but when I looked more closely they each have unique qualities. ( )

I believe this book is great for new readers and people who don’t live in a city. It doesn’t paint a perfect picture of city life, but gives you a general rundown of how crazy it can get. The colors are for the most part muted which is a good thing when you arrive at the panel with a huge bright panel. I did really like the book, but I couldn’t help but feel like we deserved something more. ( )

City dawning is a cute little rhythmic book about some night time fun. The book has no specific characters, so one must look at the illustrations to understand the story. The book talks about the night sky going down and how the stars sparkle in the sky. In the illustrations we see one family, two parents and a daughter leaving their house to go out. The family goes to a fair and the illustrations show many families, fair rides, and shows. People are laughing, eating, and enjoying their time. At the end of the story it talks about how it is time to go to bed to allow the sun to come back again. Based on the illustrations one could tell the time period and where the story takes place. I thought this was a cute book, short, and sweet. I really enjoyed the rhythmic tune it had going. There was a lot of alliteration with the words which I thought added to its uniqueness. Overall I think it’s a very cute book that kids would enjoy. ( )

Peter Sis did a awesome job illustrating the book. His illustration made the story come to life and it made the story likable. ( )

6. City Night, by Eve Rice illustrated by Peter Sis and published in 1987 by Greenwillow books is a realistic fiction poetry picture book about a girl and how she views the city’s “life”. Overall I liked this story, specifically its illustrations and poetry style. The illustrations in this book are very bright and vibrant pictures that grabbed my attention and drew me into the story. My favorite illustrations are on page 9 and 10. These two pages showcase the sunset over the city’s (presumably Chicago) skyline. This is one of the most beautiful scenes I have seen in my book review. The orange tint of the sunset makes it look as though the city is being painted orange. A great attention to detail is also evident in the illustrations. On the next page, page 11, we see a man at a carnival manning the hotdog stand. The attention in the stand alone is incredible. I could actually see the grain of the wood and detailed markings on the hotdog stand. The illustrator put in markings like little nicks in the stand and signs of extreme use. This use of detail helped me to stay involved with the story. It’s the little things that I don’t think about, like signs of use, that when they are included help the story. The pictures also go with the poetry on the page. The poetry in this book is something that I found enjoyable. I liked how it was simple rhymes that kept me involved in the story. The type of poetry used was rhyme poetry, but more specifically illustrated poems. This is my favorite type of poetry because the lines go with the pictures on the page. This helped me as a reader to stay involved in the reading and to create my own beat to the poetry. City life and culture are present themes through this book. This book is about how a city comes to life and how that culture is represented through its citizens. ( )