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Sunday, January 24, 2010

READ THIS: THE TWELVE DAYS OF CHRISTMAS IN NEW YORK CITY Written and illustrated by Lisa Adams

To some of us like Peachy Deegan, it is still the Christmas season!  The Petite Peachy Panel took a look at the Twelve Days of Christmas in New York City (On-Sale date October; ISBN 13 978-1-4027-6440-0; $12.95/$16.95 Canada; Ages 5 and up) recently to extend the holidays and we just loved it.  You know how into this song we are from the 2009 Best of Whom You Know song.



Daniel is so excited about his cousin Emily’s visit with him in New York City that he gives her one of these VERY unusual gifts on each of the twelve days of Christmas, and Emily writes lively letters home to tell her mom and dad all about her trip. Lucky readers are in for a wild Christmas countdown!   Sing along with the perennial holiday favorite, only instead of the words you know plug in the new verses (7 sidewalk Santas, 6 bridges gleaming, 5 shining stars, 4 dragon kites, 3 loud bells), all from the Big Apple!  Whom You Know recommends this book.  Here is what our panel thought:


The Twelve Days of Christmas in New York City, written and illustrated by Lisa Adams, was such a great surprise!  I actually received it after Christmas and wasn’t all that interested once the holiday had passed, but when I finally sat down to have a look at it, I was delighted.  For the most part, the book is narrated by Emily, a young girl spending the Christmas holiday with a cousin in New York City..  She narrates via the letters she sends home to tell her parents of her experiences in the Big City, and clearly doesn’t miss celebrating the holiday season with her mom and dad at all! Emily’s cousin Daniel gives her a twelve day tour of a lifetime, showing her everything from St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Rockefeller center to Staten Island, the Bronx Zoo, FAO Schwartz, and Chinatown.  And that’s not all!  This book is just plain fun.  I don’t even want to get into detail about all the other places Emily visited because I myself loved trying to guess what was next as I turned the pages.  I really think this is a great gift for New Yorkers to give to family members and friends who live far enough away to still be wondering why anyone would every live in the Big Apple.  So, I’m a little late for Christmas 2009, but keep this book in mind to gift any time of year!

Author Lisa Adams, creator of the Baby Gap Teddy Bear Logo, strikes a perfect Christmas Carol cord with her book “The Twelve Days of Christmas in New York City.” The book creates a different version of the Twelve Days of Christmas featuring each day in NYC and all of the Christmasy things you can do.  The story revolves around Emily heading to Manhattan to visit her cousin Daniel.  Each page is beautifully illustrated with winter scenes of the city. Emily writes letters home for each of the twelve days she is away to her family. From a pigeon in a central park tree all the way to 12 Streamers Twirling in Time Square, Emily has a true NYC Christmas. My daughter enjoyed each page it reminded her of the things we had too done this past Christmas in NYC. A great way for your child to learn about the Big Apple’s unique Christmas Attractions or celebrate the ones they have already experienced.

The bold title and colorful front cover of Lisa Adams' children's book, Twelve Days of Christmas in New York City, would grab the attention of any child going to New York. Upon opening the book, one finds a map of the United States, followed by an enlarged image of New York's boroughs on the next page which requires careful studying to understand. For the child that loves detail, they may be interested by the location of a few landmarks, however, I found the labels to require a significant amount of explanation as a number of the landmarks can become easily overlooked on this detailed illustration. The format of the book with a series of letters on the left-hand page, complimented by a simple poem on the right, allows this book to be read in a variety of ways and to a range of age groups. The letters talk about Emily's trip to New York to visit her cousin and are abundant with descriptions of various landmarks around New York City.


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ABOUT THE AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATOR
Author-illustrator Lisa Adams enjoys everything the Big Apple has to offer. She spends her free time gallery hopping around SoHo and biking in Central Park. She also loves exploring every nook and cranny of the city’s waterways in her sailboat, from the small back ports to the wide expanse of the Hudson River—the best way to see all five boroughs. Christmas is one of Lisa’s very favorite seasons in New York City, and she never misses seeing the incredible Christmas tree at Rockefeller Center.  


Best known for creating the babyGap teddy bear mascot, Lisa also illustrates for numerous publications, including the New York Times and Frommer’s travel guides. Sketchbook in hand, Lisa tries to catch as many drawing opportunities as possible in her favorite city in the world!

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