Urban Playground

Book excerpt: Rural areas cover 97 percent of the United States—yet more than 80 percent of the US population lives in urban areas. What is life like for the millions of children who populate our nation’s cities? In Urban Playground, Katie Burke interviews fifty children, ages five to nine, who live in San Francisco. In each conversation, she explores one of ten different themes—family, school, pets, vacation, work, heroes, holidays, favorite foods, talents, and sports—followed by insights on the topic. She rounds out each segment with five questions for adults and kids to discuss after they’ve read it together, encouraging open, honest dialogue about young readers’ thoughts on the subject matter at hand. Future books in the series will expand into other major U.S. cities. Fun, accessible, and interactive, Urban Playground is an important window into the ways children in cities think about and describe the most important aspects of their lives—which is every aspect of their lives!