Citybook

Thoughtful compositions and uncommon settings mark this vibrant collection of megalopolitan photographs--here, the teeming streets of New York City provide the setting. A boy chats on one of three pay telephones above which images of the Simpsons and the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles stare out from a graffiti-scarred wall; a vivid kaleidoscope of neon signs touts ``Party Cake'' and ``Erasmo's Laundry''; a speeding subway car becomes little more than a green-streaked blur. With seldom more than four words to a spread, the minimal text ranges from imaginative (``Mimes, music, museums'' identifies a cheery gamin, a saxophone player, a dino likeness) to captions short on inspiration (``So many sights. /So many lights''). But here the photo's the thing, and many highlight arresting images beyond the usual big-city travelogue--though a few are overly dark. A handsome introduction to a unique urban landscape. Ages 2-6. (Mar.)