Artist Roxie Munro presents various iconic New York City holiday scenes in this picture-book, from the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade to Times Square at New Year's. In between are department store Lord & Taylor's gorgeous Christmas windows, the skating rink at Rockefeller Plaza, and the Christmas tree at The Metropolitan Museum of Art, amongst many others. At the end, an author's afterword gives more information about each landmark depicted.

Originally published in 1987 - it was named one of The New York Times' best-illustrated books of that year - Christmastime in New York City was reprinted in this edition in 2014. Some of the scenes depicted are now a little outdated - as other online reviewers have noted, South Street Seaport and the Manhattan skyline now look a little different than they do here - but this still has plenty of appeal, both for contemporary New Yorkers, and for those visiting the great city at the holidays. The artwork has a distinctive, vintage charm, and the scenes open up an urban world in winter to the reader/peruser. There isn't really any story here, more a series of scenes, but for those looking explicitly for books about New York at Christmas, Munro's book is sure to be a winner. ( )

This is a wordless picture book that provides illustrations of iconic Christmas scenes in NYC. I liked this book for two reasons. First, the illustrations did a good job of telling a story on their own. For instance, the illustration featuring Rockefeller Plaza shows hundreds of people skating around on the ice rink. There are two people who are holding hands, who the reader may assume to be a couple. There are a couple of people who are laying down because they have fallen. There is no right or wrong when it comes to the reader's interpretation. This allows the reader to relate to the book in whatever way they can and create a story out of it. Second, the book allows readers to broaden their perspectives. Those who have visited New York City are able to create text to self connections. Those who have not visited New York City are able to experience what it is like through visual representations. The overall idea of this book is to depict New York City at Christmas time in a realistic fashion solely through visuals. ( )

This book is not what I expected it to be. It is a trade book, but it just shows pictures of the many things one might find in New York City around Christmas. Each page has an iconic part of New York City, such as The Macy's Parade, and Rockefeller Plaza. I am giving this book three stars, not because it is a good story, but because it is informative and interesting. This book seems to me like it was created for kids who have been to New York, and kids who have not. For kids who have been there, the illustrations of all these locations will bring back happy Christmas memories. For kids who have not been there, it is a chance to see all the popular spots in New York during Christmas. This could be used in the classroom to talk about a prominent place in the United States. The students could discuss the pictures and talk about any real life experiences there. For the children who have not been to New York, this book could be a learning experience about what goes on there during Christmas. The illustrations are my favorite part about this text. They are the only reasons I would use this book in a classroom. They illustrations draw a great animated picture of real life places, that even I as an adult find interesting. ( )