Authors Wells and Barclay started this darling series with the hope of giving young readers a glimpse of the big, bright world around them, and this first installment does just that. Charlie is an adorable lead, sprinting and wagging his way through a city that’s teeming with flashy new experiences. He touches on the activities that are just pure fun—like sampling famous New York City pizza—while also perusing monumental landmarks, including Lady Liberty, who “holds her torch with pride,” and One World Trade Center, a towering monument to the power of hope. Sanna Sjöström accompanies those iconic landmarks with textured watercolor illustrations that transform each scene into a work of art, from the fluffy zoo penguins to the swank contours of Charlie’s Broadway play.
Younger readers will revel in Charlie’s adventures, experiencing NYC’s splendors from the comfort of their homes. Of course, Charlie returns safely home—“his favorite place”—at the end of a fun-filled day, ready to rest up for his next journey. The authors close with a brief description of the famous landmarks Charlie visited throughout the story, along with question prompts to help readers personalize his excursions, making this a series kids will relish returning to in the future.
Takeaway: Adorable story of a pup with wanderlust and the Big Apple.
Comparable Titles: Natalia Diaz and Melissa Owens’s A Ticket Around the World, Kari Allen’s The Boy Who Loved Maps.
Production grades
Cover: A
Design and typography: A
Illustrations: A
Editing: A
Marketing copy: A
