This review covers ‘This is London’, ‘This is New York’, and ‘This is San Francisco’ by Miroslav Sasek, copied to all three books.

I stumbled across these three books by Miroslav Sasek at, of all places, Cost Plus World Market. The art immediately caught my attention in that old timey feeling, and I learned these books were created in 1959, 1960, and 1962 respectively, which explains the art style. An introduction explains that Sasek was inspired to create travel books for children during a trip aboard. His first creation was ‘This is Paris’ in 1958. For these updated editions, the books are edited with asterisks to identify new names or geographical locations while the art stayed the same. There is an effort to connect the sites geographically. The text is kept light for a child’s reading level. The art is ultimately the win. I very much enjoyed seeing these locations through the lens of the 1960’s, and the art style is charming and delightful. Even though I know all three cities well, ‘This is London’ was easily my favorite; it must be the anglophile in me.

P.S. Here’s the main site for his work. http://www.miroslavsasek.com/ ( )

This book was meant to be a child's guide to the city of San Francisco. With basic facts and simple pictures, this book gave the young reader an overview to different aspects of the city- transportation, neighborhoods, landmarks etc. Although it is very informational, some of the information is out of date. This book read like a normal picture book, but did not really follow a story line. Informational and enjoyable. ( )

Beautfiul children's illustrated book, originally from the 1960s, the second of Miroslav's "This is" series about various cities. He draws the city's landmarks and attractions in his wonderful distinctive style. Each page has a brief amount of text explaining about the city's features, but the images work alone. Although it was originally a children's book, his work is now considered a cult classic and would be appreciated by adults with an interest in retro illustration or anyone who loves San Francisco. ( )