A picture book filled with maps and all sorts of information about the island and history of Manhattan. Starting with basics on the flora and fauna of the region, the arrival of the Lenape natives, moving on to the arrival of Dutch, who “bought” the island for $24 and some beads. Jennifer Thermes then traces the development of New York City, recognizing contributions by those often left aside (slaves, immigrants, and indigenous people.) The maps showing the city’s development are a joy, including wonderful illustrations, of the marvels – both natural and manmade – such as bridges, subways, skyscrapers, Central Park, etc. Sadly, my library copy covered the inside front and back covers, which have not-to-be-missed content for readers. Recommended for readers of all ages. ( )

Manhattan is one of five boroughs of New York City. This densely populated island is one of the original counties of the state of New York. It’s been described as the cultural, financial, and entertainment capital of the world.
Read the recently published children’s book on this topic, then learn more at the website:
MANHATTAN: MAPPING THE STORY OF AN ISLAND by Jennifer Thermes takes readers back through time examining how this island has evolved over the past 400 years. Filled with fascinating historical maps, informative sidebars, and illustrations of specific people and places, picture book readers learn about both the natural world and the people who have inhabited this metropolis.
The Historical NYC Maps & Atlases from the New York Public Library web page provide links to historical maps of Manhattan from 17th through the 20th century. Students will enjoy comparing these historical maps to the book’s illustrations.
Historical NYC Maps & Atlases
https://on.nypl.org/2yuGpTr
ARC courtesy of Abrams Books for Young Readers ( )

This is a wonderful book, an illustrated historical atlas of Manhattan designed for your people. It is beautifully illustrated by the author, Jennifer Thermes. The endpapers show a larger map of the island with the south in the front and the north in the back. The front cover is a pastiche of lower Manhattan, showing the pre-European trees and fields (on the left), the middle showing the Broadway neighborhood of 200 years ago, and a modern day vista with skyscrapers stretching to the lower east side featuring the Brooklyn Bridge. The rear cover repeating the eighteenth page in the book with a colonial type map. No electric streetcars are shown (the only thing I missed): the streetcars shown on the large drawing of the Brooklyn Bridge are actually cable cars. Electric railways in Manhattan got their electricity through a third rail between the tracks or from batteries if they operated close to the riverfronts. ( )

Spectacular new book! Interesting to read, and full of engaging illustrations. ( )

10 star book! Except that there is no way for it to not abruptly end, unfortunately. It covers the period from 20,000-10,000 years ago to 2018. Actually, millions of years ago but 20,000 years back in human history/habitation of the area. So anything important that happens in/about Manhattan 2019 and into the future will not be covered.

This picture book is so dense with information and images that it felt as though I was reading a full length history book. It took me longer to go from start to finish than it generally takes for me to read a book of any length. Primarily that was because I enjoyed poring over every detail in all the many maps and the accompanying illustrations.

I love maps in books and this is a book of many maps and map details. Of course, I was going to love it!!!

That is takes place in Manhattan, NYC, a place for which I have mostly fond memories, in addition to being full of maps made it special for me. This brought back many memories and had me longing for a repeat trip to Manhattan even more than my usual wish for one.

The maps and other pictures are gorgeous and contain so much great information. I love how dogs and certain other animals have repeated appearances though various time periods.

I learned a lot from the book, about the past and the near present too.

In addition to many detailed maps over time and illustrations, some of the text contents to give an idea, in chronological order: millions of year ago, Native Peoples, the English, Dutch New Amsterdam 1625-1664, British New York 1664-1783, the Collect Pond, the American Revolution and the British occupation 1776-1783, New York New York U.S.A., A Grid for a City 1811, the Great Fire of 1835, A Plan for a Park and Seneca Village, Central Park, A Growing City the 1880s, Immigration and the Island, the Gilded Age 1870-1900, Bridges, Skyscrapers, Hurrican Sandy, Manhattan Today, and Afterword. Okay, all that tells so little. There is so much detail in pictures and words. I hadn’t known George Washington was sworn in the then Capital, for instance. In the back there is an extensive tiny print full page Time Line with some events & details that don’t make it into the book proper and a page of select sources including other books, websites, museums, and a just for fun short section. There is so much more covered than what I put in this paragraph. So much!

As with all books I love I have an especially hard time reviewing this book. I cannot adequately describe it or do it justice. If I was in a position to buy even one book right now I would likely purchase this one.

Highly, highly recommended for independent readers of all ages who have any interest in any of the following: Manhattan, NYC, American history, natural history especially of the general area, and map lovers, and those who appreciate beautiful illustrations.

Note: I thought I was the first patron to borrow this from the library (I was the one who requested that the library purchase this book for circulation) but it came to me a bit damaged. I was almost glad. The inside front and back covers had been taped down in such a way that they covered important content (crucial text as well as pictures!) on the inside front and back covers. I find that so annoying, but normally if I couldn’t see under the flaps I’d carefully look at a copy at a bookstore just to look at the hidden portions but this way I was able to see everything as I read. I can tell this wasn’t done by a librarian for the benefit of borrowers because it wasn’t done in a clean or professional way; a bit of both of the book’s pages was torn so I couldn’t really be glad that the book came to me this way. It’s a beautiful collectable type book so it’s a shame, though it is perfectly readable as is. ( )