Keeping the City Going
Gratitude brims in celebration of workers in the pandemic.
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that Keeping the City Going, by Caldecott Medal-winning author/illustrator Brian Floca, is a gentle look at life in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, when only the most essential workers were at their jobs and the clanging of pots and pans and cheers signaled gratitude during shift changes. The scenes of New York City played out similarly in cities worldwide, where fear of getting sick was balanced by the need to go out for necessary supplies and necessary work. While each person's pandemic experience is different, this book gives thanks while looking at the common moments, and gives families an opening to talk about their feelings about such a difficult time.
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What's the Story?
KEEPING THE CITY GOING is a gentle story of gratitude for the workers who continued to show up at grocery stores and hospitals, the ones cleaning the streets and delivering packages, and everyone else who kept cities alive during the COVID-19 pandemic. Author-illustrator Brian Floca tells the story of the people who drove the vehicles that ran on New York City's streets and what it meant to those who stayed inside: food deliveries, emergency services, basic utilities, connection to the world.
Is It Any Good?
Simple phrases and gentle illustrations work together magnificently well to reflect the complex feelings of life in a pandemic. Keeping the City Going shows glimpses of normalcy -- sanitation trucks, delivery workers, emergency workers -- set against streets that were eerily quieter than normal and hospitals that were not. Author-illustrator Brian Floca finds the heart and soul of the city and focuses there, on the way that essential workers kept going so that grocery store had food and ambulances ran and, yes, toilet paper was delivered to people's homes. The gratitude-filled approach can help readers young and old take a moment to appreciate what others have done and to reflect on how they feel about this difficult time.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about what they saw in their own neighborhoods that was similar to the people in Keeping the City Going. What did it look like when you stood at your window? Do you remember how you felt looking outside?
Who do you know that worked in a job keeping their own city going? How do you think they felt about that?
What are three feelings you have about the COVID-19 pandemic?
Book Details
- Author: Brian Floca
- Genre: Picture Book
- Topics: Great Boy Role Models, Great Girl Role Models, History
- Book type: Non-Fiction
- Publisher: Atheneum
- Publication date: April 27, 2021
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 4 - 8
- Number of pages: 40
- Available on: Hardback, Kindle
- Last updated: May 25, 2021
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