CITY UNDER THE CITY: Sharing the Secret!

 I'm a longtime fan of work by author/illustrator Dan Yaccario (whose books can be found if you click on his name, but I'll just mention THE LONGEST STORM, BOY + BOT, and EVERY FRIDAY.) Whether Yaccarino is illustrating stories for others or creating both text and visual narratives, he produces heartfelt and touching characters and relationships while eliciting smiles, even grins, unfolding stories in lively and even ludicrous scenes that feel somehow familiar and connected to our own lives. 

Mineditions (ASTRA BOOKS) 2022

CITY UNDER THE CITY,  written and illustrated by Dan Yaccarino, was released back in November, 2022. I was provided an examination copy from the publisher at that time with no promise of a review. My delay in writing about it (YIKES! Six months!) has been due to a variety of commitments and personal demands, not a lack of interest in this remarkable and exciting new graphic/picture book. This powerful little gem has been keeping me company at the top a revolving stack of other titles, many of which I shared here during those months. 

Now, finally, I'll shine a spotlight on it in the way that cover character BIX manages to enlighten her family and world to realities they have been conditioned to ignore. In its stack-shifting time near my laptop, I have reread this book multiple times and love it even more with each reading. I also discover distinct and important visual details each time, tiny twists in the minimalist/intricate blend of foreground and background, in minute shifts of expressions, in developing moments to dwell on, as when  BIX and the rat snuggle to sleep on a library shelf.

In this allegorical portrait of life today, BIX and family are residents of a society in which the EYES "help" each human to ...live? Every want or need is provided by a personal EYE, from transport, to feeding food, to directing activities, to channeling content into the ubiquitous lightbulb-like screens that occupy the sole attention of every person of any age. 

BIX hates life with the EYES. In her techno-digital society, BIX is ignored by the humans with whom she wants to play, is limited in what and how she reads, is isolated in a pod for instruction, all while the eyes WATCH. There is no place to escape their watching, until a little yellow rat leads BIX into a crack in the foundation of a building. That daring move leads drops them into a new/old "somewhere" that turns out to be a city under the city. There, real LIFE exists, although nnot people. Those intricate background images shift from digital-chip-circuitry to organic and unpredictable green-line life.

Thus begins part 2, having achieved part 1 of this complex story in very few pages and equally few words. The deeper they go, the more life appears, including mushrooms, greenery, and evidence of a prior city (and people) that functioned on its own human choices, not those of the EYES and screens and isolation bubbles. With freedom to choose, BIX learns about BOOKS, and finds that choices allow her to LOVE reading, not hate it. Music, art, history, sharing dining spaces, a FRIEND, and so much more make BIX wonder- where did the people go?

The tug of family love and longing lead BIX and her new friend back to the surface, bringing with them some of their discoveries to provide a highly dramatic conclusion in part 3 of this slim volume. There is great satisfaction in that resolution, but also ample opportunity to imagine what a part 4 or 5 might provide. Throughout all pages and parts the page turns are filled with surprises, including double gatefolds, in which the expansive urban landscape sprawls in variety and specificity, starkly contrasted to the uniformity and isolation of each life, even family lives, in the city ABOVE this city!

The story line and language are entirely inviting to even the youngest, perhaps especially to the youngest, who often see the world more clearly than we adults do. Despite that approach, the story as a whole and in discreet elements poses questions for older youth and even the oldest audiences. Moving from the obvious parallels of our wired world, there are so many subtle aspects to explore and discuss. Yes, we live with many all-seeing eyes, we have digital managers (smart appliances and cars?) that guide our purchases and practices. But ask yourselves, before you dismiss this as heavy handed nonsense, how dependent you may be on feeds you receive in any form of social media, the reminders you get about standing up or moving more, the reliance on your/our digital calendars to remember special occasions of loved ones and even suggest/arrange messages or gifts to send to them? How often have you mentioned something in casual conversation, perhaps about your insurance renewal coming due, then received links to various insurance options, even though you haven't actually keyed in a search? I refer to that all-hearing digital device at home as "The 'A' WORD", but my smart watch qualifies from such annoyance, too. An all-hearing EAR character is one that fits well with this entertaining and exciting story.

Please do NOT follow my example and wait six months to give it this your careful attention. Put your device down and get your hands on the physical book, then enjoy! After which, share it and have some remarkably deep conversations. One topic I'd like to chat about relates to the sign in a window in the under-city, VOTE. That minor detail made me wonder about whether the people in BIX's city have an option to or interest in voting?  When all choices are made for you, would you be conditioned to not even WANT to choose your leaders?  And speaking as  someone whose psychology classes all featured behavioral conditioning of rats, how ironic is it that it's a free-thinking, curious little rat who brings BIX the key to discovery and uncontrolled choices. Please give this book the close reading it deserves.