Storied City: New York
"To some people," sighs the worldly, wisecracking 12-year-old Peter Hatcher of Judy Blume's Superfudge, "there's no place like Nu Yuk. And I guess I'm one of them." As America's real-life Oz, "Cross-roads of the World," and publishing epicenter, New York City remains an enduring source of inspiration for authors of books for children and teens.
Mark Twain, Frances Hodgson Burnett, Ludwig Bemelmans, H. A. and Margret Rey, Langston Hughes, Robert McCloskey, Roald Dahl, Maurice Sendak, and Blume herself all called New York home at one time or another. Providing more than mere residency, however, New York and its culture of superlatives—its tall tale-ish appetite for newests, biggests, and bests—has made it a natural backdrop for the exploits of colorful characters, from Eloise and Harriet the Spy to Lyle Crocodile.
In the same spirit, writers and artists have celebrated the city's iconic landmarks; chronicled its historic role as a seaport, arts mecca, and immigrant destination; and zoomed in tightly on its endlessly evolving honeycomb of culturally diverse neighborhoods. New York's openness to change is doubtless the main reason it has inspired its own flourishing subgenre of young people's literature, with stories to tell about growing up, venturing out, and becoming one's own person.