This review covers ‘This is London’, ‘This is New York’, and ‘This is San Francisco’ by Miroslav Sasek, copied to all three books.

I stumbled across these three books by Miroslav Sasek at, of all places, Cost Plus World Market. The art immediately caught my attention in that old timey feeling, and I learned these books were created in 1959, 1960, and 1962 respectively, which explains the art style. An introduction explains that Sasek was inspired to create travel books for children during a trip aboard. His first creation was ‘This is Paris’ in 1958. For these updated editions, the books are edited with asterisks to identify new names or geographical locations while the art stayed the same. There is an effort to connect the sites geographically. The text is kept light for a child’s reading level. The art is ultimately the win. I very much enjoyed seeing these locations through the lens of the 1960’s, and the art style is charming and delightful. Even though I know all three cities well, ‘This is London’ was easily my favorite; it must be the anglophile in me.

P.S. Here’s the main site for his work. http://www.miroslavsasek.com/ ( )