City Street

In strikingly bold images and very few words, the creator of Nature Walk and A Beach Day presents evocative glimpses of urban life. The sights and sounds, the bustling activity and rare quiet moments are depicted with precision and elan. A boy does chalk art on a sidewalk, watched by a cat lurking behind a garbage pail: ``Sidewalk scrawls.'' Next a multiracial gaggle of youngsters practice their hoop shots: ``Basketballs.'' A woman waters the blooms in her windowbox (``City flowers''); children frolic in a park's fountain (``City showers''). Whether at work or play, Florian's thickly defined figures capture just the right city attitudes. In a style that seems both childlike and sophisticated, his vibrant palette washes each scene with a rainbow of color. As the pink sky of ``Twilight'' deepens to the midnight blue ``City night,'' this archetypal metropolis has provided a visual tour worthy of Fielding or Frommer. Ages 3-up. (Aug.)