This book is half an ode to the author's daughter named Harlem, and half a history of the early days of the Harlem neighborhood of New York. It's an interesting concept, even if it doesn't quite live up to its potential. That may come from the fact that the author doesn't usually write for children and created this book as a response to his preschooler's declaration that his other books are all boring due to their lack of illustrations. The illustrations in this book are absolutely beautiful and the backmatter is informative. However, the main text fell a little flat for me. ( )