Cityblock Children's Board Book {Review and Giveaway}

We had the opportunity to review the recently released children's board book called Cityblock.

This book is written by Christopher Franceschelli and illustrated by Peskimo. 

About the book:

Cityblock is a small, but chunky board book that measures 5 1/2 inches wide by 6 1/2 inches tall by 2 inches deep.

Cityblock shares a fun look at three different aspects of city life with fun, peek-a-boo, die-cut pages, a total of 98 pages in all. Each section begins with a question: How will we get around?, What can we do?, and What should we eat? The following pages show the reader the huge variety of options in a city. 

The book begins with a double page spread where both pages fold out to show more of the ways to get around in the city.

The street shows the diverse nationalities that live in the city as well. Our main characters are the white haired man with the two young children who you can see in the bus above and on the sidewalk below.

They are shown using six types of transportation: the subway, a taxi, a bus, the ferry, their own feet, and a helicopter (which they acknowledge they were very lucky to be able to do, because flying in a helicopter really isn't a form of everyday travel for the majority of people who live in cities). 

While seated at the top of a double-decker bus, they are amazed by all the things to see in the city. They then ask what they can do. Not only does the book specify nine different places to go, it shares what they are doing there. Such as discovering dinosaurs at the natural history museum, and searching for treasure at a flea market. Other places they go are the carousel, the stadium, the bookstore, the gift shop, the music on the street, an elevator, and enjoying the view at the top of a building. 

Of course, they have been having a busy day, which means they must be getting hungry. They discover seven different options for eating: a farmers' market, a snack stand, the pizzeria, a Japanese restaurant, a taco truck, an ice cream cart, and having a picnic in the park. 

And at the end of the day, after taking a close look at all the details of city life, we pull back to say good night to the big city.

What did we think of this book?

I was quite impressed with the story and design of this board book. The pages aren't actually as thick as a traditional board book, but they are thick, heavy pages designed for preschool-aged children. I wouldn't recommend giving the book to toddlers as the pages can rip. Children will love discovering the different sights of the city, whether they live in one themselves or not. As a person who grew up in the city, but has lived the last 23 years in the country, it was fun way to share with my young children how life was different for mommy growing up.

I love how the cut-outs on each page are different. There are some that just have holes cut out, for a peek-a-boo effect. Such as when they are waiting to get on the subway. We get a little peek into the train car before entering.

Then we see get to see the inside of the car.

Then there are pages where the outline of the page is actually cut into a different shape, giving us a look at what is on the next page. 

We turn the page...

and see it from another point of view, this time, inside the taxi.

As you can see, there is not a lot of text in this book. So even though there are a lot of pages, the book does not take very long to read, so young children with short attention spans will not lose interest. I appreciate the the text isn't just a list of things to do, but told as a story where they are finding these different things to do, see, and eat. 

The illustrations are bright and bold, with close up pictures that then become larger views on the next page. All the friendly faces help to make the city appear to be an inviting place to live in or visit. 

This is definitely a book I can recommend for your preschool child(ren). Even my older children seemed to enjoy reading this book.

About the author and illustrator:

Christopher Franceschelli is a seasoned publisher, editor, and creator of children's books. He runs Chronicle's Handprint imprint and the SmartInk packaging company. A born-and-raised New Yorker, Franceschelli lives with his family in Brooklyn.

Peskimo is a husband-and-wife illustration and design team. They live in Bristol, England.

Published by Abrams Appleseed, an imprint of ABRAMS. The book retails for $16.95. Release date: September 6, 2016.

Giveaway Time!

Great news! I have been given the opportunity to offer a giveaway for one person to win their own copy of Cityblock!

All you need to do is enter in the Rafflecopter form below. 

There are only 2 simple mandatory entries, with the remainder of the entries being optional. 

Remember, you do not have to do the extra entries, but they will increase your odds of winning. 

This giveaway is open to US residents 18 and over. 

The giveaway runs November 13th through November 27th

Thanks for stopping by, and good luck!

 By entering the giveaway, you understand and agree that your contact information will be shared with the sponsor.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I received a hardcover copy of  Cityblock  in exchange for my honest review. No further compensation was given. This did not in any way influence my review. I only recommend products I use personally and feel will be a good products for my readers.