I like the Ezra Jack Keats picture books too, and on “the tip of my tongue” are some others that I’ll try to remember, but in the meantime I wanted to add the observation from Enrique Penaloza, former mayor of Bogota Colombia who was famous for instituting Car-free days and areas in the city, that “good urban design is design with the ‘happiness of children’ foremost in mind.”

1963 Caldecott Medal- The Snowy Day
Caldecott Honor book Goggles!
Whistle for Willie
Peter’s Chair
Apt. 3
and more!

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/default.asp?Lang=en&Section=books&Ntt=ezra+jack+keats&Submit_Search.x=0&Submit_Search.y=0

Johnson, Stephen T. Alphabet City. Illus. Viking.
Letters of the alphabet are seen in the sidewalk cracks, street equipment, building details, and urban scenes and depicted by handsomely-crafted paintings. A 1996 Caldecott Honor Book.

Beginning with the A formed by a construction site’s sawhorse and ending with the Z found in the angle of a fire escape, Johnson draws viewers’ eyes to tiny details within everyday objects to find letters. In this wordless tour of sights from Times Square to the Brooklyn Bridge, he invites young and old alike to take a new look at familiar surroundings, discovering the alphabet without ever looking in a book or reading from a sign.

Also “City by Numbers”

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/item.asp?Item=978014055904&Catalog=Books&Ntt=alphabet+city&N=35&Lang=en&Section=books&zxac=1

Yolen, Jane & Condon, Ken (Illustrator). (1996). Sky Scrape/ City Scape. Honesdale, PA: Boyds Mills. 32 pp., ISBN: 1-56397-179-8 (hc), (ages 4-8).

This unique collection of poems is a must-have for all elementary classrooms that study neighborhoods. A variety of poets, from Langston Hughes to Norma Farber, bring the rhythm of “the city” to life as one reads this anthology. The lively illustrations in chalk and oil pastel jump off the page and take readers into each setting. The poems and images express the energy and rush of city life and touch on many urban topics, including skyscrapers, graffiti, the subway, pigeons, and more. Readers will “walk” away from this book with a positive and refreshing insight on city living. As the poem “In The Inner City” states, “… happy to be alive and in the inner city or like we call it home.”

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/item.asp?Item=978156397179&Catalog=Books&Ntt=sky+scrape+city+scape&N=35&Lang=en&Section=books&zxac=1

ONE HOLE IN THE ROAD By W. Nikola-Lisa. Illustrated by Dan Yaccarino. New York: A Bill Martin Book/Henry Holt & Company. (Ages 3 and up)

Potholes, more accurately sinkholes, may not seem the likeliest depths to plumb for humor, but ”One Hole in the Road,” W. Nikola-Lisa’s spare counting tale, sets out to prove otherwise. Dan Yaccarino reprises his art for Eve Merriam’s ”Bam Bam Bam,” a similar urban deconstructionist tale. This time the city mobilizes flagmen, police officers, plumbers and jackhammer operators to repair broken water mains.

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/item.asp?Item=978080504285&Catalog=Books&Ntt=one+hole+in+the+road&N=35&Lang=en&Section=books&zxac=1

Crews, Nina. The Neighborhood Mother Goose. illus. Greenwillow. (0-06-051573-2)

A thoroughly urban, thoroughly multicultural, thoroughly delighted assemblage of children romping their way through traditional Mother Goose rhymes, this puts a decidedly modern shine on some old classics.

http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/item.asp?Item=978006051573&Catalog=Books&Ntt=neighborhood+mother+goose&N=35&Lang=en&Section=books&zxac=1

http://ask.metafilter.com/mefi/24696

I won’t repeat them here, there’s too many, but it’s worth a look!

Author Barbara Bash has chosen 13 species of birds, from the familiar pigeon to the sleek, skyscraper-nesting Peregrine Falcon, to show how these creatures have successfully adapted to new city habitats. She mentions the fact that many of the birds’ original environments have been destroyed by man, but is not heavy-handed in her message. In a picture-book format, the brief text gives fascinating and sometimes humorous glimpses into the birds’ way of life. Imaginative book design puts the text (and readers) right into the pictures, the deep-colored illustrations reflecting both the liveliness of the birds and the stark beauty of the urban setting. City children reading Urban Roosts will begin to look at their surroundings from a new perspective. It may even lead schools to consider a new type of field trip – city birdwatching. – Ruth S. Vose, San Francisco Public Library

http://www.seattleaudubon.org/natureshop.cfm?id=162