Inside and Out: New York

With great classroom appeal, this first in the Inside & Out series is unique in its enormous format. You can pin it up on the wall, pass it around, or fold it up and shelve it.

The book consists entirely of a large fold-out poster, illustrated on both sides. One side is a wide-angle view of the city, while the other side shows a closer view of a neighborhood. The "reader" is invited to search and find a variety of things (shown on the inside of the back cover), which definitely has appeal to a certain kind of kid.

While the perspective is unique and the book would make a nice addition to a unit on big cities or New York itself, I see the book as having the most use as a model for an elementary-level art class. The illustrations are colorful, bold, bright, and therefore very eye-catching. However, I would have liked to see more information about the artist, what his influences are, and how he did the illustrations.

The verdict: An interesting format that will get kids talking about New York and thinking outside the box about their creative styles.