With his customary ease in evoking atmosphere and mood, Alvin Tresselt describes the way a big city wakes up—from the first chirping of the city sparrows to the honking of the bus that picks the children up for school.

A companion book to WAKE UP, FARM! this one is in sharp contrast. The hustle and bustle, the jostling traffic, the busy markets and hurrying people all are tuned to a quick and lively tempo.

Roger Duvoisin's illustrations begin with the dark colors of night and change gradually to red and yellow and gold, suggesting sunlight on city walls. Especially symbolic are the last pages with their tiny ant-like lines of traffic—and people drawn to scale—moving along below the towering skyscrapers.

From the dust jacket