The blankest of verse – beyond a good knack for repetition – portrays nature for a young reader. Sometimes the detail is more scientific, sometimes more artful, but on the whole I didn't find much to like on these pages. I didn't really like the style of the words, and I certainly didn't like the artwork. Sometimes I'm sure the concept – moss propagation, pigeons dancing to procure a mate, hibernation and so on – will definitely come across, but I'm sure the younger me would have preferred a different manner and approach to delivering them, and I can't really see that as having changed since. A bonus star, however, for some closing trivia, that does show the extent of the wonders of the world's nature (well, North America's).

Full of charming, full-colour pictures, Hidden City collects poems focus on urban wildlife. It's a beautiful testimony to the fact that nature can flourish in the face of human intrusion. I love the flow of the poems, fitting the topic. Take 'House Sparrows’, which tapers to a drop, while talking about raindrops. At the end is a section about the various animals featured in the poems, along with books for further reading.

I read this with my cubs, and we all enjoyed the poems! Our faves include: Fairy Rings, Nighttime Garden, Bat Breakfast, Camouflage, Under Cover, and One in the Bush. I particularly loved Under Cover. I lived in an apartment some years ago that would have a springtime infestation of ladybugs! So cool.
***Many thanks to Netgalley and Wm. B Eerdmans Publishing for providing an egalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I don't usually go for poetry but the cover and title of the book were so enchanting that I had to give this book a chance. My daughter loved the illustrations and the poems really curiously brought to life, whole world undiscovered right under our noses. Great way to get interested and take notice of nature and world around us.

Beautiful illustrations in pleasant hues grace the pages of this exquisite children's book.. The poems, short phrases and sentences (that do not rhyme) describe the habits and actions of insects and animals (and a plant or two) found in urban areas. The artwork includes lovely paper piecings. Ladybugs, geese, dandelions, raccoons, rabbits, cats, bats, and more. The illustrations are sure to win an award. Five stars.

I grew up in the woods with the summer sounds of wood thrushes and katydids lulling me to sleep each night. In spring, we searched the woods for Indian pipes, Dutchman’s breeches, and lady slippers. The squirrels and songbirds joined us at meals at our picnic table among the trees. Despite all this, I was thrilled to move right into Boston when I was a teenager, and I’ve never wanted to be too far from that city since. But in the years I raised my young children, I despaired of giving them the kind of connection to nature that was so easy to nurture in the woods. I wish I had had a copy of Hidden City when they were small.

Sarah Tuttle’s poems evoke the rhythms, sounds, and behaviors of the wildlife tucked in and around a city landscape. Tuttle’s love and knowledge of wildlife and ecology sings through with information artfully included in each poem to help children and their parents know where to look for wildlife and learn more about each species. The poems focus on the everyday sightings of pigeons, sparrows, and dandelions and the more unusual: raccoons at night, snakes in the vacant lot, red-winged blackbirds in the marsh by the railroad track. These rich poems will spark interest—and questions. A rich double-page spread of end notes provides both more information and a list of resources for families wanting to learn more.

Tuttle’s beautiful poems are beautifully paired with artist Amy Schimler-Safford’s colorful artwork. The pictures are not only inviting, but also fun and informative. Many of the pictures have wildlife hidden here and there for eager readers to find. Who wouldn’t want to dive into these appealing pictures to find the dragonfly among the cattails, count the snails at night, or imagine the mouse’s warm paper nest?

To be fair, I must disclose that Sarah Tuttle is a critique partner of mine, so I have known and loved these poems for some time. I will be buying this book for my home library and sharing it with families I know. Even if you don’t know her, if you are raising or teaching children in a city environment, you will want a copy of this book to read and study and to encourage your family to go out and discover the wildlife in your neighborhood.

I received an advance reader copy of Hidden City courtesy of the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Nature carries amazing variety and beauty even in urban settings, and this is exactly the splendor this book brings to life.

Accompanied by bright illustrations, twenty-eight free-verse poems open up a world of exciting nature even there where one doesn't expect it. Everything from moss to birds to insects is explored—most of it familiar but often not noticed or taken for granted. Young readers will recognize the creatures and plant life, and spot most if it in their own environment. It opens up to nature in places where nature is often forgotten, in cities and suburbs.

The poems are just right for young listeners, bringing attention to little details and fun moments. There's even a little humor sprinkled in. The actions, sights, sounds and feelings are easy for even younger listeners to understand and relate to. And the wording is crisp and clear, keeping boredom at bay. With each poem, a beautiful collage (usually over the two-page spread) allows the creatures and plants to come to life in vivid colors. It's fun just to explore these pictures.

At the end of the book, there is extra information about the various creatures and plants mentioned in the poems as well as additional sources.

This is a perfect read for young explores, who live in urban areas. It opens the eyes to nature in even the most unexpected spaces, and helps children gain a little more appreciation for the environment around them.

3.5 stars

This book gives me good feelings. It makes me appreciate nature even more. It reminds me of small things that really can make you smile and happy.
I love how cute, warm, and lovely this book is.
I smile a lot reading it :)

I love a children's book where the artwork is unique and eye-popping, yet also doesn't take away from the message on this page. HIDDEN CITY did just that, showing young readers about urban wildlife, and how they maintain despite being in a city. At the end of the book are some more in-depth facts about each animal, for the slightly more advanced young reader

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the DRC of this book. Hidden City is filled with bright and beautiful collage illustrations by Amy Schimler-Safford. The poems explore the various places life exists within a city- from dandelions growing in sidewalk cracks to a Daddy Long Legs molting in your basement. Various author's craft techniques are used that could serve as a mentor for students in writing workshop.

The strength of Hidden City: Poems of Urban Wildlife mostly lies in the wonderfully rich and vividly expressive collage illustrations by Amy Schimler-Safford. From darkly mood settings such as an evening hunt for moths by bats or a nighttime march through a garden by munching snails to brightly green or gold images of a "bit of marsh beside the train tracks" or a fairy ring on the lawn, Safford's images will captivate young readers with their rich coloration and almost three-dimensional depiction of the oxymoronic "urban nature."

The poems themselves vary in effectiveness, though all are at least solid if simple. The writer, Sarah Grace Tuttle, makes good use of line length and repetition, though the latter may actually be a little overused throughout the text. Several of the poems effectively employ various sound techniques. In "Multiply," for instance, Tuttle does a nice job with alliteration (the "t" sound) and assonance ("the "oo" sound), describing moss as "delicate shoots/For shoes to/Tread on." That "shoes to tread on" phrase is repeated at the close to depict the endless cycle of reseeding that goes on.

Sometimes the language feels a little flat (the end of "Fairy Ring" - "that they appear on the lawn overnight" is a bit prose-y) or mundane, as with "thin branches," "tangled web," or "yellow face" for a dandelion, all of these familiar yokings. Young readers of course won't find them overly familiar with their little experience with language, but still I'd have preferred a greater sense of playfulness, more startling use of language now and then.

That said, if the poems are serviceable and solid, the illustrations are enough in themselves to recommend the book. Strong three

Alla scoperta della natura che si nasconde in una metropoli: fili d’erba e muschio nelle crepe della strada, piccioni che si bagnano e corteggiano in una fontana, formiche operose che accumulano accumulano accumulano.

Creature che diamo per scontate, ma rendono ricca la città in cui vivono, e ci ricordano che dalla natura siamo circondati, che lo teniamo presente o meno.

Piccoli, incantevoli poesie ricche di informazioni e delicatezza accompagnano illustrazioni magnifiche, realizzate con suggestivi collage.