City Street Beat

by Nancy Viau, Barbara Bakos (Illustrator)

Overview

In City Street Beat, a young girl travels along a city's twisty road on her way to a friend’s house. Together, they embark on an adventure, taking in all the city’s sights and sounds. They hear the tippy, tappy clack of high heels on the sidewalk; the strumming and drumming of a three-piece band; the flipping and flapping of dancing pigeons; and more. The girls move and groove to the rock-n-roll and razz-ma-tazz of the city’s hip-hop beat using all five senses until at last it’s time to say good-bye.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780807511657
Publisher:	Whitman, Albert & Company
Publication date:	09/01/2014
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Nancy Viau is the author of several picture books, including First Snow and City Street Beat. Nancy works as an assistant librarian, and when not reading or writing, she searches for adventure abroad or near her New Jersey home. Nancy lives at the beach several months out of the year.

Barbara Bakos grew up on the edge of Budapest next to a little forest. She enjoys traveling to faraway places to see new things—always with lots of ideas in her head and lots of pens in her pocket. But whenever she's not at home, she misses having her big ginger cat by her side with Johnny Case records playing in the background.

Read an Excerpt

City Street Beat

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By Nancy Viau, Barbara Bakos

ALBERT WHITMAN & Company

Copyright © 2014 Nancy Viau
All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8075-1164-0

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CHAPTER 1

Travel on a twisty road. Fast and slow, then whoa! Greet the city with a smile Hustle, bustle, GO!

Say hello and hold an end. Jump rope, one, two, three. Rhyme bluebells with cockleshells Eevy, ivy, SQUEE!

Join the ladies as they walk. Skip across each crack. Pick a tempo for our feet— Tippy, tappy, CLACK!

Tip and tap a city song That's playing on the street. Rock-n-roll the razz-ma-tazz And hip-hop to the beat.

Cheer hooray! The train is near. Scramble to our seat. Watch the world go whizzing by— Whoo-oo, too-oo, TWEET!

Scurry up the steep, steep stairs. Step and hop, then stop. Wait until the carriage moves Swaying, neighing, CLOP!

(Continues...)

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Excerpted from City Street Beat by Nancy Viau, Barbara Bakos. Copyright © 2014 Nancy Viau. Excerpted by permission of ALBERT WHITMAN & Company.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

09/29/2014
Viau (Look What I Can Do!) adds to a crowded category of picture books celebrating urban life in this rhyming ode to the sights and sounds of the city. A girl and her mother drive into the city, where they meet up with a young friend and her father. The parents mostly stay in the background as the children jump rope, ride the subway and a bus, and dance to a street band. Viau's verse zips along with a strong emphasis on sound effects ("Hear the shutters climb the wall./ Rat-a-tatter. Bang!"), though the recurring refrain strains in its effort to come across as fresh and hip ("Rock-n-roll the razz-ma-tazz/ And hip-hop to the beat"). Bakos's busy illustrations, painted in a vivid palette, offer a cheerful, multicultural cast and abundant city bustle to explore while matching the unceasingly upbeat mood of the verse—the closest the book ever comes to any sort of urban grit is an encounter with a garbage truck. Ages 4–7. Author's agent: Karen Grencik, Red Fox Literary. Illustrator's agency: the Bright Agency. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

"(T)his evocation of the urban soundscape makes a good choice for a noisy, active storytime." Booklist Online, November 20, 2014

"Bakos's perky full-color artwork re-creates the movement found within the city. . . There is much to see in this cheerful tale that will stimulate readers' imaginations while showcasing city life." School Library Journal, August 1, 2014

"Bakos's busy illustrations, painted in a vivid palette, offer a cheerful, multicultural cast and abundant city bustle to explore. . ." Publishers Weekly, September 26, 2014

"This is a good read-aloud selection to celebrate the beauty and hustle and bustle of urban life." Library Media Connection, March/April 2015

From the Publisher

08/01/2014
PreS-Gr 2—For the duration of a day, two peppy little girls enjoy a visit with one another while dancing along bustling streets and listening to rhythms in the city sounds. The girls hear catchy rock and hip-hop beats, from ordinary people walking, musicians playing, the bake-shop bell ringing, a trash truck rumbling, birds eating, and more. With an absence of dialogue and the inclusion of a recurring verse, the book is marked by a descriptive rhyming writing style that progresses at a jaunty pace. Bakos's perky full-color artwork re-creates the movement found within the city. A multicultural cast of adult and juvenile city goers engages in an abundance of activities common to an urban environment. At times, the girls appear to be unsupervised as they take in their adventure, but a few scenes with parents nearby will reassures readers that familiar adults are around. Also among the busy details are whimsical and dainty mice that reappear throughout. There is much to see in this cheerful tale that will stimulate readers' imaginations while showcasing city life. As an extension of the story, encourage children to listen for rhythms in the sounds of their school or home surroundings.—Lynn Vanca, Freelance Librarian, Akron, OH

School Library Journal