Hold on to your hat: Carlos is in Coney Island

If you liked "Ankle Soup," the book illustrated by Woodbridge native Alison Josephs, (and we are willing to bet that you did) you also are likely to love her new release, "Custard and Mustard, Carlos in Coney Island."

While "Ankle Soup" recounted the adventures of a little French bulldog named Carlos as he makes his way through Grand Central Station, the new book places le petite chien at Coney Island.

Written by Maureen Sullivan and illustrated by Josephs, “Custard and Mustard" is "a rollicking read, much like a ride on the famed Cyclone rollercoaster, it captures the unique character and thrill of the nation’s first amusement park—and America’s favorite playground—Coney Island, a place of buskers and hucksters, old salts and Carni-freaks, still just a subway ride away for New Yorkers, and now, available to readers everywhere by virtue of this wonderful book," said Marty Markowitz, Brooklyn Borough President, in a review.

In one passage, Sullivan wrote:

"This delicate pretzel, all lacy and white? Don’t let it fool you, you’d better hold tight. Your fast beating heart could end up in your mouth, when the car inching northward decides to plunge south."

Josephs, a painter and graphic designer working in New York City, grew up in Woodbridge, graduating from Amity High School in 1983. She went on to earn a BFA from Cornell University and studied in Florence and Assisi.
Her work focuses on New York themes such as Yankee Stadium and Coney Island. Shown below, Josephs now lives in Hoboken, NJ with her ankle-high Norwich Terrier, Ruby.

Josephs will be at the The Yale Bookstore on June 27, for an event. For more on her books, click here.