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Uptown

(2000, Fiction - Picture Book, Written by Bryan Collier, Illustrated by Bryan Collier)

  • Is it age appropriate?

    About our ratings

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    Not age appropriate for kids under 0, age appropriate for kids over 4; suggested age 4.

  • Is it any good?

    5.0

  • Common Sense says

    Harlem is home in this jazzy award-winner.

Why We Rated This on for Ages 4 and Up

The good stuff

  • Messages:

    Life in Harlem is celebrated by a young African-American boy.
 

What to watch out for

  • Violence & scariness:

    Not an issue.
 

What Parents Need to Know

About Uptown

Parents need to know that this is a beautifully evocative book with no objectionable material.

Did this review help you decide?

Families Can Talk About

  • Families can talk about what it would be like to live in a city, especially New York and Harlem. Would you like the trains, the bustle, the brownstones hooked one to another? Do you agree that chicken and waffles is a strange combination? Would you like it? What about jazz, basketball, and going to church? What is a Van der Veer photograph, or have you heard the Harlem Boys Choir? Does the boy seem to like these things? How do you know? Kids might enjoy talking about the things that make their neighborhoods special. If they were writing this book, what kinds of things would they show people about the places where they live?
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