Recommended reading for the budding urbanists among us For kids and teens, even more than for adults, books are an opportunity to explore unfamiliar frontiers and learn about other places. So this year, in addition to our list of 101 books about where and how we live geared toward adult readers, we?re recommending titles?spanning picture books, middle grade, and young adult?that are perfect for junior Jane Jacobses and future Frank Lloyd Wrights. And yes, grown-ups are allowed in the kids? section, too.
Picture books

1. Hello Lighthouse by Sophie Blackall
?Here is a picture book that?warning?may make you want to relocate to a pile of rocks in the middle of the ocean. It won?t be because this Caldecott Award-winning title makes life in a lighthouse look especially easy?it doesn?t?but because you will find such beauty and purpose and love in the lives lived in this cozy home amid crashing waves and changing skies and ships in need of guidance. Steadfastness, service, and family shine in these pages as brightly as a beacon.? ?Brian Floca, author and illustrator of Locomotive 2. A Pocket for Corduroy by Don Freeman
?I?ve always loved reading A Pocket for Corduroy by Don Freeman with my son. Even though it?s a sequel and doesn?t have the exact magic of the original, as a ?city story? it captures some very specific notes that I?ve never seen anywhere else. In particular, the story takes place in a laundromat where Lisa and her mother take Corduroy along to ...