05/17/2019
PreS-Gr 1-New York Public Library's famous lions, Patience and Fortitude, quite literally come to life in this wordless love letter to their history and to the Big Apple itself. Beginning in black and white, the illustrations show a librarian heading into the library at dusk. As it grows darker, the lions become infused with a golden color and come alive, leaving their plinths and taking the subway to Coney Island, where they enjoy an evening filled with food, games, and rides. Eventually, they sleepily return home, where the librarian reads to them until they return to their iconic statue state. Boehman's illustrations begin with a monochromatic, realistic, detailed style, adding color only to beings and surroundings that have a connection to the lions. Upon arrival at Coney Island, the book bursts into full-color and a more cartoon-like style. Boehman uses a combination of full-bleed spreads and single pages, along with cartoon-style panels to draw viewers into the story. Her shifts in point of view and close-up imagery, along with the limited initial color palette, are reminiscent of Brian Selznick's work in Wonderstruck. Easter eggs from the lions' history are provided, and there is an extensive historical note. The book is a visual delight that invites rereads. While likely to be most popular in New York City, anyone looking to armchair travel can enjoy it. VERDICT A must-have for New York and its surrounding communities, this is a pleasant addition to any library collection.-Amy Lilien-Harper, Wilton Library, CT
2019-03-05
Patience and Fortitude slip off their plinths in front of the New York Public Library for a Coney Island jaunt.
Joining the gallery of artists who have brought the library's lions to life, Boehman crafts a wordless sojourn featuring a pair of big cats who turn yellow when the sun goes down. Positively aglow with smiling bonhomie as well as color, they ride the F train (visible to children, unnoticed by the grown-ups) into Brooklyn for a night of fun. In a mix of full-page or -spread illustrations and large sequential panels, the New York scenes start out primarily in monochrome but switch to glittering hues as the lions, sometimes going on two legs, sometimes on four, enjoy hot dogs and ice cream under the bright lights, win a big pink plush bear, ride the Cyclone, visit the beach and the aquarium, and finally make their way back to the subway and home. There, they are greeted by a descendant of their original designer, Edward Clark Potter, illustrated as a dapper librarian who reads them a story and adds the bear to a pile of stuffed toys in his office while the lions climb back onto their perches in the brightening dawn. The art features glimpses of familiar book titles as well as plenty of accurately rendered local details and properly diverse city residents (Potter is white). The illustrator's closing note fills in historical background on the lions and their creators.
An affectionate tribute to some of New York City's iconic residents and institutions. (Picture book. 5-8)
