My Subway Ride

by Paul DuBois Jacobs, Jennifer Swender, Selina Alko (Illustrator)

Overview

Waiting for the train music in the station bucket drums steel guitars the beat and the wait and the rumble-growl a light in the dark a floating star squeak and squeal and screech to the stop

My Subway Ride whisks you through the vivid sounds, sights, and rhythms of the heart of New York City's subway and all the great stops along the way. From the "pitch, smack, home run!" of Yankee Stadium, to the rattle of the Cyclone and the sticky cotton candy on Coney Island, to the pulse of the crowd in Times Square, this book immerses you in the movement of the city. The pulse and beat of the subway train runs throughout the text, and the colorful and bold illustrations give the graphic sense of the subway, from fading train lights, to mosaic tile walls, to colorful graffiti, to a sea of faces. Join the subway station musicians who sing of the train's sound and rhythm as "a pulse, the pulse/a heartbeat/ a jazz riff/ a constant sea/ a mama's belly/ whisking us home."

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781586853570
Publisher:	Smith, Gibbs Publisher
Publication date:	08/18/2004
Series:	Children's Activity
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	9.00(w) x 10.50(h) x 0.31(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Paul DuBois Jacobs and Jennifer Swender are a husband-and-wife team living in Brooklyn, New York. Paul has coauthored three books with musician Pete Seeger: Pete Seeger's Storytelling Book, Abiyoyo Returns, and Some Friends to Feed: The Story of Stone Soup. Jennifer is an early childhood educator and curriculum developer. Paul and Jennifer's favorite subway line is the Q train.

Selina Alko lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband who is also an illustrator. Selina studied illustration in New York City at the School of Visual Arts. She has illustrated many educational books for children, including Show and Tell Rose (from McGraw Hill) and Jump Rope (from Bebop Books). Selina loves her daily commute on the subway. Her favorite line is also the Q train.

Read an Excerpt

Waiting for the train
music in the station
bucket drums
steel guitars
the beat and the wait and the rumble-growl
a light in the dark
a floating star
squeak and squeal and screech to the stop

Editorial Reviews

Take a multicultural, multi-borough trek through the city — from Yankee Stadium to Coney Island — following the jazzy rhythms of the text and the mesmerizing artwork, which is surreal enough to keep readers on their toes. This one feels closest to the spirit of NYC … .

New York Magazine - Lauren Ro

"The city is the body,/ the subway is the blood,/ running through/ tunnel veins" acts as a kind of refrain in this free-form verse that seems to rock and roll like a subway on the tracks. Dubois (Abiyoyo Returns, co-written with Pete Seeger) and Swender, his wife, conduct a whirlwind underground tour of the Big Apple, tipping their hats to tourist attractions along the way: Yankee Stadium on the 4 train ("Boys of summer,/ house that Ruth built"), Coney Island on the Q, and Times Square-where "transfer is available" nearly anywhere. Alko (Show and Tell Rose) riffs on their words with an upbeat expressionism reminiscent of urban murals and gives a nod to the stations' mosaics. Together, text and artwork capture a delicious sensory overload-the train makes a music all its own ("squeak and squeal and screech") while passengers and stops become a blur of "coming and going, going and coming." Alko imagines the subway sailing up the spine of a dinosaur skeleton at the Museum of Natural History and zooming down Coney Island's legendary Cyclone roller-coaster. The unseen narrator states the trip is not always smooth ("Red signals up ahead") and the accommodations aren't luxurious ("Excuse me!" pipes one of the "sea of faces" crammed into a car). Readers may well feel as if they've been on a magical mystery tour that hits exotic places and that winds up in the best place of all: "My stop,/ my home." Ages 4-8. (Sept.) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

K-Gr 3-This picture book begins: "The city is the body,/the subway is the blood,/running through/tunnel veins." From using a MetroCard to listening to musicians on a platform to standing aside when the passengers get on and off, a young narrator describes many of the sights and sounds of New York City's underground rail system. The rhythmic text, when read aloud, has a jazz beat that almost sounds like a moving subway car. The colorful illustrations show token booths, trains crowded with people of diverse backgrounds (while the text highlights many of the languages being spoken), and signs and more signs. The artwork is bright, clear, and just a little surreal as subway maps and grids are incorporated into most of the paintings. The picture for the Museum of Natural History stop shows a train traveling up a dinosaur's spine, while the cars heading for Coney Island take on the appearance of a roller coaster. This lively and informative story could be used for units on community, transportation, or city sounds.-Susan Lissim, Dwight School, New York City Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

A husband-and-wife team faithfully conveys the vitality of New York City and its subway system-100 years old this year-in this lyrical offering. Here, the subway is the city's lifeblood; its tunnels are veins and the subway car "[a] mama's belly." Onomatopoeia is used effectively to convey subway sounds: "[A] light in the dark, / a floating star, / squeak and squeal and screech to the stop," as a train pulls in to the station. A diverse group of riders enters and exits in one of Alko's vibrant, full-bleed spreads, "a bit of the world in every car." Bits of mixed-media collage-textured fabric for a young girl's dress, a newspaper tucked under another rider's arm-add visual interest and depth. Familiar announcements incorporated into the verse ("Stand clear of the closing doors") lend authenticity as the trains go to Yankee Stadium, Times Square, or Coney Island. A happy ride around town. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews