Night in the City - by Julie Downing (Hardcover)

About the Book

When children are fast asleep, some people are hard at work keeping the city safe and clean, and when daylight comes they go home to sleep.

Book Synopsis

An ingenious account of the jobs people do all through the night, when kids are fast asleep.

In Night in the City, author and illustrator Julie Downing cleverly uses multiple panels to follow eight people throughout the course of their busy evening, from waking up just as most people are contemplating bedtime, through the following morning.

The jobs depicted are nurse, baker, taxi driver, fire fighter, on location film tech, janitor, museum security guard, and emergency dispatcher.

Together, their stories bring the beating heart of a city to life, making for a book sure to have kids pouring over meticulously designed pages, following the exploits of our lead characters over the course of a single ordinary evening.

A Pennsylvania Center for the Book Baker's Dozen Selection
A Bank Street Best Children's Book of the Year
A Chicago Public Library 'Best of the Best' Book
A Horn Book Fanfare Book
A Junior Library Guild Gold Standard Selection

Review Quotes

"As the pages turn, children will find all sorts of beguiling details. . . ."--Wall Street Journal

★ "In a series of lively, inventive spreads, Downing (Cubs in the Tub) pays homage to workers who take up their posts as much of a city heads for bed, drawing building cutaways of people preparing to venture out. . . . Warm, engaging artwork plays the dark indigo of night off warm, golden interior light."--Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

★ "Nifty details are everywhere, and crisscrossing narratives add tons of fun. Wisely, the quiet text lets the pictures tell the stories, allowing viewers to discover the connections on their own. . . . The characters' diversity nicely reflects the big-city setting. . . ."--The Horn Book, Starred Review

"A beautiful introduction to the city at night. "--Booklist

"Will spark curiosity and awe."--School Library Journal

"Readers will close the book feeling that there's joy to be found in every job and every schedule. . . . Will make readers fall in love with the city depicted within."--Kirkus Reviews

About the Author

Julie Downing has illustrated over forty-five picture books including Hello Moon, Cubs in the Tub: The True Story of the Bronx Zoo's First Woman Zookeeper by Candace Fleming, The Fire Keeper's Son, Tessa Takes Wing and First Mothers. She has won many awards including a Parents Choice Award, the New York Public Library's Best Books Award, APAAL Best Illustrated Book and the Irma Black Silver Medal. Her work has been featured in the SCBWI Original Art Show. Julie teaches illustration to undergraduate and graduate students at the Academy of Art University. She lives in San Francisco.