repeated images of characters moving across a single page or opening) to show the kids negotiating the crowded city. Often the spreads use continuous visual narrative (i.e. The packed spreads, so much fun to wind through, turn up small surprises with each reading. The pages, though, are the thing they dazzle in their intricacy and attention to geography and culture. The story depicts the new kid’s loneliness and bluff attempts to deny it with a rough honesty, but (unsurprisingly) reaches an uplifting conclusion: the field trip becomes a rite of passage, in a manner familiar from many picture books about first experiences. Along the way, it tells the story of an awkward “new kid” in school who has just moved, feels out of place, and doesn’t trust anyone-until he and his field trip partner get lost and have to figure out how to rejoin their school group. A valentine to New York and its subway system (the book is licensed by NYC's Metropolitan Transportation Authority), Lost in NYC depicts a school field trip to the Empire State Building, and gives a wealth of info about how to navigate the Big Apple (including a detailed subway map). It rewards attention, in fact perfectly demonstrates the idea that comics are a rereading medium. A short comic in picture book format, but as dense with detail as a graphic novel, Lost in NYC works in busy, hide-and-seek, Where’s Waldo? mode. Lost in NYC is my favorite of the TOON Graphics to date (among the new books, that is-the translations of Fred's Philemon are also a delight).

A Little Princess by Ivy Noelle Weir