A Walk in Paris by Salvatore Rubbino





If, like me, you and your family are enjoying a stay-cation yet again this summer, you might enjoy a little armchair traveling, which is what A Walk in Paris by Salvatore Rubbino is perfect for. Of course,  Walk in Paris is also a superb book to read to any little listeners who just might be visiting the City of Lights themselves. If your travels take you elsewhere, Rubbino is also happy to take you on a A Walk in London and A Walk in New York!

In each book, a child and an adult explore the city. In Walk in Paris, a young girl and her grandfather emerge from the Métro at Place Maubert, home to one of Paris's oldest street markets. Rubbino's texts takes the pair on a meandering journey around the city while smaller, bite sized facts are scattered discretely around the illustrations on each page, giving you two ways to read this book.



The girl and her grandfather see the sights, their route mapped out on on the endpapers at the front and back of the book, which includes an index of the Paris places as well as a challenge to spot all seven of the images of the Mona Lisa scattered throughout the book. Having never been to Paris I especially appreciated the smaller details Rubbino included, like the special taps in the street that send water gushing along the curb, allowing the green clad street cleaners to get the job done. I also learned about the Wallace Fountains that are scattered on busy sidewalks and in squares all over the city. These fountains are a source of clean drinking water in the summer, water that comes from one of two delivery systems in the city proving drinking and cleaning water to all Parisians.




The pair climbs the up to the Chimera Gallery in the south tower of Notre Dame to enjoy the view, which Rubbino shares with readers. Later on, readers are treated to a little window shopping as the pair gazes into a pâtisserie, faced with a difficult choice...




 Rubbino wraps up  A Walk in Paris wonderfully as the pair emerges once again from a Métro station where a surprise awaits the girl. As the sky darkens, they turn to see the Eiffel Tower lighting up the night sky on a fold-out (up, really) two-page spread! Facts about the tower, from height to weight to builder to the fact that it sways a little in strong winds and shrinks or grows up to six inches depending on the temperature, are included on the page.

I love Rubbino's books, but I think that A Walk in Paris just might be my favorite! I hope the series continues with a walk in Rome, Prague, Istanbul, Cairo or Mexico City! I hope you have a lot of frequent flier miles, Mr. Rubbino . . . 



A Walk in London                                A Walk in New York

Source: Review Copy

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