"Next to the stores is my world-class salon,
Rivalling those found in Rome or Milan.
It's all automatic. Just sit in the chair.
Then seven skilled styling hands drop from the air.
They clip and they snip and they whip up a do.
And voila! They're done. A new fabulous you!"
This latest addition to Chris Van Dusen's If I Built series, concerns a young boy who imagines and describes the town he would like to build. His architectural dreams are first presented on the front endpapers in images that show a store, a health clinic and bandage building, a restaurant, a library, and some farm machinery. There will be readers who want to stop right there and have a clear look at each image.
The town looks pretty ordinary on the title page. In fact, Jack thinks it's okay. It could just be so much better, he suggests to Mayor McKay. He would start with the fountain. Carved in blue marble and sporting sea creatures of every kind with jets that spray whenever someone walks by! As the two stroll together discussing the changes Jack would make, the upbeat rhymes and glorious artwork draw readers to the wonders of the imagination.
Jaxtown would have everything that kids might dream of having in their own town. Tree planting, an open-air zoo the includes mythical creatures as well as those that would normally be found there, an energy source, a new house for everyone, and robots - many, many robots. With every turn of the page, Jack shares his vision for the town he would build. As the two move on through town, readers are shown the diversity of its population, the sunny nature of everyone living there, and the eternal optimism of the town's creator.
"My town will be swanky! My town will be swell!
My town will be prized as the best place to dwell!
Vividly vibrant yet sweetly serene."
Back endpapers offer a map of Jaxtown as imagined by Jack, certified urban planner.
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