Lost in NYC: A Subway Adventure: A TOON Graphic

by Nadja Spiegelman, Sergio Garcia Sanchez (Illustrator)

Overview

Also available in Spanish as Perdidos en NYC: una aventura en el metro

The sights . . . the sounds . . . the SMELLS! New York's crowded subway system is known for many things, but being easy on a lost kid isn't one of them. When Pablo gets separated from his new schoolmates during his first field trip in New York City, he doesn't know how he'll be able to find them again. Luckily, he has a little knowledge, a new friend, and the surprisingly approachable city itself to guide his way. This story features maps, archival photos, and fascinating facts to help readers explore the subway without ever having to get caught like Pablo in the mob of Times Square. It brings all the bustle and beauty of NYC to young readers around the world.

This story is also available in Spanish as Perdidos en NYC: una aventura en el metro

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781943145485
Publisher:	Astra Publishing House
Publication date:	05/05/2020
Pages:	52
Sales rank:	268,166
Product dimensions:	7.60(w) x 9.80(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	8 - 12 Years

About the Author

Nadja Spiegelman is the Eisner-nominated author of the Zig & Wikki series of science comics for young children. A native New Yorker, she prides herself on important subway know-how such as where to stand to get a seat and how to sleep without missing her stop. She now spends her time between Paris and Brooklyn.

Sergio Garcia Sanchez is one of Spain's most celebrated experimental cartoonists. He has published more than forty-five books and his work has been translated into nine languages. He is also a professor of comics in France and Spain and currently lives in Granada with his wife and his children.

Editorial Reviews

"With humor and sensitivity, Spiegelman reveals how getting lost can be the first step toward finding your way—while also giving NYC residents and visitors alike a valuable primer on the subway system and its history." —Publishers Weekly STARRED REVIEW "García’s adroit art bursts with activity, while the story highlights the ingenuity city life brings out in the young. Packed with subway maps, lore and miscellany, it’s sure to be treasured by tweens and adults, too." —New York Times "Required reading for anyone, tourist or resident, mystified by or anxious about using arguably the greatest public-transportation system on the planet." —Kirkus Reviews STARRED REVIEW

From the Publisher

García's adroit art bursts with activity, while the story highlights the ingenuity city life brings out in the young. Packed with subway maps, lore and miscellany, it's sure to be treasured by tweens and adults, too.

The New York Times Book Review - Maria Russo

★ 05/25/2015
In an emotionally astute (and geographically useful) comic, which incorporates archival photographs, subway maps, and other materials, Pablo’s family moves so frequently that he is determined not to become attached to anyone or anything—even New York City. During a field trip to the Empire State Building on his first day of school, Pablo shrugs off his classmate Alicia’s attempts to befriend him, as well as his enthusiastic teacher’s history lessons en route. After Pablo and Alicia accidentally get on an express train and watch their classmates and teacher pull away on the local, Pablo’s frustrations come to a head: he storms away from Alicia at Times Square and has to find his own way to the Empire State Building. Sánchez uses a mix of full spreads and panels, depicting myriad dramas unfolding on (and below) the streets. With humor and sensitivity, Spiegelman reveals how getting lost can be the first step toward finding your way—while also giving NYC residents and visitors alike a valuable primer on the subway system and its history. A Spanish-language edition is available simultaneously. Ages 8–12. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 04/01/2015
Gr 4–7—New York City's quintessential sights and sounds and hustle and bustle are beautifully captured in this exciting graphic novel. Lost in NYC unfolds via multiple adventures. First, there's Pablo, the new kid in school. His smart and resourceful classmate Alicia offers to be his partner on the class field trip to the Empire State Building. The students will be taking the subway there, so before setting off, Mr. Bartle dives into an engrossing history lesson about the Empire State Building and the construction of New York City's subway system. Spiegelman and García Sánchez's set the narrative tone and demonstrate artistic mastery in an opening spread that uses a 3-D-like cartoon effect to illustrate Mr. Bartle and his students sitting atop and inside a map of Manhattan, "dissecting" and going "underground" to explore the subway system beneath. Seamlessly woven into the illustration and text are historical photographs that depict how tunnels and trenches were constructed to build the subway system. The storytelling is kinetic. The text moves along visual lines, following subway platforms that both ascend and descend. This technique is paired with illustrations that evoke the sensations of walking Manhattan's densely crowded and diverse streets. Readers see the stacks of yellow cabs, the buskers singing, the skyscrapers carving corridors of blue sky, and even some famous tags by New York's finest graffiti artists. This a love song to the the city that never sleeps as well as a solid friendship story. Paired with robust, detailed historical notes and an engaging Spanish translation by Moral, this book is sure to be a hit with kids and their adults. VERDICT Recommended for all collections.—Lettycia Terrones, California State University, Pollak Library, Fullerton , CA

School Library Journal

★ 2015-02-03
A student new to both New York City and subways loses his class on the way to the Empire State Building.Cast not as a nightmare (though it probably is, for teachers at least) but as an exhilarating odyssey, the outing begins when Pablo, surly and standoffish on his first day at his sixth school, boards a West Side No. 2 express train as his classmates crowd aboard the No. 1 local. Fortunately, he's partnered with Alicia, a friendly, informative and particularly thick-skinned fellow student. Unfortunately, he manages to lose even her at the Times Square station and finds himself bound for Flushing, Queens. Though García Sánchez exaggerates (maybe…a bit) the density of the crowds on train platforms and streets, the above- and belowground architectural details, signage, general New York ambience and the trip's overall itinerary are rendered with exacting accuracy. Even the occasional cutaway views and multiple-perspective spreads look natural. For added value, conversational infodumps and a closing section—both with inset period photos—fill Pablo and readers in on the subway's construction, history and line designations, with side peeks at the Empire State Building. The book is also available in Spanish as Perdidos en NYC, with a translation by multitalented colorist Lola Moral. Required reading for anyone, tourist or resident, mystified by or anxious about using arguably the greatest public-transportation system on the planet. (further reading) (Graphic picture book. 7-10)

Kirkus Reviews