Walking in the City with Jane: A Story of Jane Jacobs is a non fiction picturebook written by Susan Hughes and illustrated by Valerie Boivin. From the time she was a young girl, Jane Jacobs' curious mind made her a keen observer of everything around her. When she grew up, she moved to New York City, a place full of new wonders for her to explore. It was there she realized that, just like in nature, a city is an ecosystem. So, when city planner Robert Moses proposed creating highways through the city that would destroy neighborhoods and much of what made New York great, Jane decided she couldn't let it happen. She stood up to the officials and rallied her neighbors to stop the plans and even got arrested! Jane's bravery and ideas had a huge influence on urban planning that is still being felt today.

Walking in the City with Jane: A Story of Jane Jacobs is an engaging informational picture book, offering readers a fictionalized story of the life of Jane Jacobs, one of the world's greatest urban thinkers and activists. I think the stylized art gives a feel for the time and location, it is interesting and enjoyable to look at. I found the story to be well told and interesting. I think young readers that love cities, streets, and exploring will fully enjoy the read. I think those that get bored easily in school, and are always looking to explore, will relate to Jane and her story. Nature loves and those interested in ecosystems and how cities and the world in general work will also be captivated by the story. I am not sure that it will be interesting to all readers, but it was well done and engaging in my opinion. At the end of the book there is a brief biography of Jane Jacobs to further inform or inspire readers.

I have to admit, prior to this book I had not heard of Jane Jacobs. I find her platform fascinating, though: cities are for people, not companies. I enjoyed learning about her efforts to make cities more pedestrian friendly. The journey was intriguing. I might have liked to have seen more detail about her platform, though. The focus is largely on events in her life. I'd have liked to see some detail of what people-centric city planning looks like: green spaces, public transport, pedestrian lanes, etc.

Interesting, educational and informative. I really enjoyed diving into this book and I think a lot of children will benefit greatly from reading it.

When was the last time you paid attention to the activities in your town? What did you notice? What did you appreciate? Jane Jacobs, an author and an activist, was fascinated by the intricacies of city life. As a child, she wondered how cities sustained daily activity. She had questions about man holes, sewer systems and street design. Jacobs loved her neighborhood, and when city planners threatened to tear down her community to build a highway, she protested. She wrote letters and involved neighbors to challenge the plan. She made a difference. The highway was never built.

Jane Jacob’s story will compel readers to take a new interest in their neighborhoods.

I had a hard time figuring out what “Walking in the City with Jane” was... Initially, I thought that it was a biography. However, someone “from medieval times” showed up... that couldn’t be real! I appreciated the afterward that explained it was a fictionalized story based on someone real. This belongs in the picture book section!

A lovely and wonderful look at an amazing citizen activist who helped protect and pave the way for urban cities in New York and Canada.

This is a perfect book for questioners and young city planners! In this engaging, short read, with wonderful illustrations, Ms. Hughes tells the story of Jane Jacobs. Jane was an "outside the box" thinker from her earliest childhood when she rebelled by refusing to promise to brush her teeth every day. When Jane moved to New York City as a young woman, she began to think about how people live together and the ways in which cities should work for their residents, not the builders or those who wanted to build highways. Her clashes with Robert Moses and her love of where she lived and what she did shine through.

A quote:

"Throughout her lifetime and beyond, Jane Jacobs urged city planners to make cities better for the people living in them. She inspired communities to take a stand..She also encouraged everyone living in cities to look around..." Good advice and a good book!

Thanks NetGalley and the publisher.

A lovely and wonderfully illustrated book about Jane Jacobs.
Even if the target are children this could be a good way to learn more about an important intellectual.
I liked the way her life and achievement were told and the illustrations are wonderful.
Strongly recommended.
Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher

This picture book is about Jane Jacobs, a champion in the fight to keep neighbourhoods healthy and thriving. This is a fictionalized accounting of her life, but it is not really for young readers. Perhaps late primary/junior (ages 8 to 11). When planners tried to bulldoze neighbourhood to put in highways or run them through parks, Jane got her family and neighbours to picket and protest. She even got thrown in jail at one point. The story starts with a young girl in school who had a mind of her own and follows her through her moves to New York and Toronto. A good book when studying about towns and cities as well as teaching children that they can make a difference if they stand up for what they believe in. The illustrations were okay, but not outstanding. This book is a good example of perseverance and standing up for yourself and beliefs. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via Netgalley.

Interesting story about a real community advocate that is well written and a great introduction to young readers. Overall a nice way to structure a historical figure and the idea of community engagement and advocacy.

Walking in the City with Jane is wonderfully, nostalgically illustrated by Valérie Boivin. This book will introduce readers to a remarkable lady and help them be more aware of the city in which they live. It will help them to understand about putting people first in the communities which surround them.

I really enjoyed the illustrations but the story felt a bit flat. I don't think many readers will connect with the character or the story.

Oh, would that my city had a Jane Jacobs. And would that the likes of me had books like this when we were younger. Jacobs was a campaigner against urbanisation and tower-blocks, allowing real neighbourhoods where real people live to be the core of the city, as opposed to mass building and transportation links. There's a case to be had for saying the young won't be interested in a picture book about a city planner, but there's just enough correct thinking, easy protest and non-snowflake ideas within the story to tip the balance of the book into the easily recommendable. She changed the world severally in ways the young would not have considered, and so this book is great at bringing her to their attention. The artwork and text are equally fine; the imagery clever in the way Jacobs is aged from a child to much more elderly across the pages.

There is a scene, in the TV series, <a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5788792/">the Marvelous Mrs. Maisle</a>, where she comes across a protest against the city running a motor way through the park. She joins the protest. That protest is lead by Jane Jacobs, a real person, whose story if featured in this lovely picture book about her life.

Jane starts out rebellious, and never looks back. She learns that to keep the city alive, and vibrant, it is important to have parks and not expressways, and works hard to keep the parks going in first New York City, and then later in Toronto.

The art is lovely, as shown below.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-416" src="http://www.reyes-sinclair.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Screen-Shot-2018-04-20-at-12.08.59-AM.png" alt="Jane"/>

Sometimes the text was a little silly, such as slipping in her marriage by having them talk about the city, but hey, it works.

What a lovely, colorful book to introduce kids to the world of activism, and show how it can be done, if you fight long and hard enough.


Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Walking in the City with Jane is a children's book about Jane Jacobs, a journalist turned activist devoted to protecting communities.

I really enjoyed the illustrations and love the idea of writing more books for kids that are based on actual people. I don't know that I've ever come across a kids book on city planning and I can definitely remember not having these types of books when I was little. That being said, it didn't really work out for me. The timeline went by incredibly fast. I kind of wish that the focus would have been more on how she decided to become involved rather than childhood-adulthood-activism within a few pages.

I agree with a few others that a picture book doesn't seem to be the best way to get across the story of Jane Jacobs life. I like the idea of teaching kids about her though!