When I was a kid, I loved dreaming about faraway places. I did my first overseas trip at 15 and haven’t stopped since (until these past two years when the pandemic clipped my wings). Seasons In the City, published by Hachette, is exactly the sort of book I would have loved dipping into as a kid, fuelling my desire to experience other countries and cultures, and enticing me with colourful illustrations of places I could only dream about.
Megan McKean, an Aussie who relocated to Sweden in 2020, spends a lot of time dreaming about where to travel. She’s a wonderfully creative illustrator whose work is characterised by the use of bright colour palettes, strong lines and surprising details, encouraging you to go back for another look to see what you might have missed. Her work spans digital, print and 3D forms.
With Seasons In The City, she has divided the book into the four seasons, further dividing each of those chapters into major cities around the world. She takes young readers on a joyful romp through:
Spring in Amsterdam, Paris, Cairo, Tokyo, Mexico City, and Jaipur.
Summer in Stockholm, Sydney, Los Angeles, Rome, Singapore, and Rio de Janeiro.
Autumn in London, Hong Kong, Copenhagen, Istanbul, Montreal, and Reykjavik.
Winter in Queenstown, New York, Zurich, St Petersburg, Beijing, and Cape Town.
Throughout history, people have welcomed new seasons with important rituals. Many of those traditions continue today, as the change in weather brings different occasions to celebrate and different activities to enjoy. Through her words and pictures, Megan has a lot of fun exploring all those rituals, activities, and traditions.
From the tulips in Amsterdam and the cherry blossoms in Tokyo in spring, to the longest day of summer in Stockholm when the sun stays up for 18 hours, to winter in Cape Town where the whales come out to play, kids can dream along with her and thus lay the foundations for a similar lifelong love of travel.
Buy your copy of Seasons in the City from Australian-owned Booktopia.
Check out more of our reviews for travel inspiration.
