City Under the City
by Dan Yaccarino (Author)
From acclaimed author-illustrator Dan Yaccarino comes an exhilarating adventure--set in a richly imagined alternate future--celebrating autonomy, community, and the power of reading, perfect for fans of The Rock From the Sky.
Bix lives with her family in a city where people rarely talk or play together, and no longer read books. Instead, they stare at small portable screens, monitored by giant eyeballs. The Eyes are here to help! With everything. But Bix would like to do things for herself. Running from an Eye, she discovers another world: the City Under the City.
There, she befriends a rat who leads her to a library and its treasure trove of books and knowledge. As she explores the abandoned city, she's thrilled to learn about the people who lived there, with no Eyes. But she misses her family, and decides to head home, where, just maybe, she can help defeat the intrusive Eyes--and show her people how to think for themselves and enjoy each other's company.
Told through Dan Yaccarino's stunning graphic style, this page-turning picture book/early reader crossover will spark a new appreciation of reading, books, independence, friendship, and family.
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Publishers Weekly
The latest from Yaccarino (The Longest Storm) centers a comics-styled near-future dystopia in which purple-hued people in pointy helmets have given up all claim to autonomy and connection. They walk around all-consumed by handheld screens and are "helped" in every moment of their lives--even teeth-brushing--by yellow, single-eyed floating orbs, the Eyes: "The Eyes don't just help. They also watch." Bix, the young protagonist, yearns for genuine relationships and self-determination, but her parents and sister are as distracted as everyone else. When a friendly rat introduces Bix to the titular, abandoned underground city and its library, museum, and music hall--the remnants of life before the Eyes took over--she's awakened to the possibility of another existence, and returns home to lead a successful uprising. The earnest, message-heavy storytelling slackens in places, but readers should appreciate the parallels between the Eyes and a familiar screen-obsessed surveillance culture, and resonate with Bix's thirst for knowledge and refusal to settle for the status quo. Ages 4-8. Agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House. (Nov.)
Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.
Review quotes
"The hottest dystopian picture book of the year. Read this book!" — Elizabeth Bird, Fuse Eight
A Publishers Weekly Big Indie Book for Fall
101 Great Books for Kids List, Evanston Public Library (IL)
"The idea that one determined small child can help adults find a new way will surely inspire. Librarians and educators can hardly go wrong with a book that celebrates unimpeded literacy with such verve." — The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books, Recommended
JUV053000 - Juvenile Fiction | Science Fiction
JUV043000 - Juvenile Fiction | Readers | Beginner
