Of all the picture books I read in this category, Subway is hands down my favorite. As I have said in the past, I love visiting NYC with my dad. Given that, the theme of this book was right up my alley. Admittedly, the plot is nothing groundbreaking; it’s the simple story of a father taking his kids on the subway. For me, a basic plot can be excused if the art is pleasing. In that regard, Subway knocks it out of the park with painted images that are really great and eye-catching. So, for both how it reminds me of going to NYC with my father and it being as aesthetically pleasing as it is, Subway was my favorite picture book to read. ( )

Age 5-7. Two boys and their dad explore the subway station on a rainy day “just for fun!” They go through different lines and different stations explaining how the subway works in rhyme. The boys are completely in charge, at least until the dad has to drag them home for bedtime. The illustrations are done in gauche with white people on dark black and gray backgrounds. The train tracks are painted their line’s assigned color like a subway map, and the line names are notated in the color circle like on subway signs. The illustrations start off cute and fun, but they come off very flat in this medium. The lack of depth becomes a problem in the more busy illustrations, like an intersection of trains that ends up looking like a jumble of color that is difficult to read. In addition the book goes very in depth with different place and station names such as DeKalb and Far Rockaway that a young child and even some adults would not be familiar with. The overall story of a father-son day out is solid and easy to relate to, but Niemann’s book might have delved too far into specifics in this book. Additional Selection. ( )

A very simple yet creative book, Subway follows a father and his tow sons on a rainy day where they ride around on the different New York City subway trains. The pictures are very simple, with all the people being the white figures you see on a bathroom sign, but this idea of signs representing things is conveyed throughout the book. The classic subway letter identifier is used in the text and to represent different objects. I though the story was cute, but the images were really interesting.

Teaching Extension:
Have students create maps of how they get to school, the store etc. by bus or by car. *So many kids no longer need to know how to use/create a map, and I think it is a skill that needs to be reinforced. ( )

This story was cute, but if you have never been on a subway before it might be hard for kids to relate. ( )

This is a great book about the subway...if you live somewhere with a subway. For my subway-less kids, I'd probably choose something with photographs or more realistic illustrations. But if you live in a city with subway amenities...it's a very cool book. Borrowed from the library.