A WALK IN TOWN is a delightfully simple and straightforward picture book. It tells the story of a young girl who has to walk to school with her mom while the family car is being fixed. At first, she is nervous about stepping out into the world, fearing the people she meets might not be friendly. She soon realizes the opposite is true. Her neighbors are all very welcoming, and she enjoys the walk so much that she wants to do it all over again the next day.
Author Debbie Davey keeps the first-person narrative to a minimum, just enough to introduce new characters and give them a few lines to interact with the young girl. Though few in number, the words are carefully chosen, allowing the girl to naturally come into contact with all the different cultures in her neighborhood. Her dad’s barber calls out, “Buenos días!” to her, and she learns that this is Spanish for “Good morning.” When her next-door neighbor Mr. Park calls out to her, she already knows what he is saying because: “He taught me before that ‘Annyeong’ means ‘hello’ in Korean.” There are numerous opportunities in the text for younger readers to be encouraged to learn a few new words in different languages.
The drawings by Diana Florescu complement the text well. The girl’s big, bright eyes convey the excitement she feels being out in the world. The rendering of the local shops and streets is full of quirky details, accentuating the diversity of the area. On the walls are advertisements for Argentine tango lessons, an African market, and a Thai food establishment. There are also welcome changes in perspective, so every page is not a uniform sideways stroll.
A WALK IN TOWN highlights our multicultural society, and it’s refreshing to see all of the positive aspects pushed to the fore. The final page, where the girl arrives at school, shows a multitude of different flags all flying proudly side by side. It delivers a wonderful message to the young generation for whom this book is aimed.
Written by Debbie Davey and illustrated by Diana Florescu, A WALK IN TOWN is a simple but effective book that will make its young readers unafraid to meet new people and have an open mind about cultures other than their own.
~Kent Lane for IndieReader