The Legend of New Amsterdam
Peter Spier
Hardcover
(Doubleday & Company, Inc., Jan. 1, 1979)
The First European settlers to the island that is now called Manhattan lived in crude shelters. But gradually the village of New Amsterdam developed, and by 1660 it had three hundred buildings, and over fifteen hundred people and it was still growing. Now Caldecott-winner Peter Spier brings this thriving little metropolis alive for young readers.. He takes them through the bustling streets, points out the schoolhouse and the market place, the shipyards and the sawmill. He introduces them to the local residents- the glass blower, the smithy, the carpenter, the miller. And he tells them the legend of Crazy Annie Bogardus, a lonely old woman with an uncanny vision of things to come. With its wonderful illustrations and its touch of good humor, The Legend of New Amsterdam is a charming and colorfully detailed portrait of city life on Manhattan island over three hundred years ago.
Q