Christoph Niemann, born in 1970 in Waiblingen, Germany, is an illustrator, graphic designer, and author of several books including children’s books.

    His illustrated book “Subway” was chosen by The New York Times as one of 10 “Best Illustrated Children’s Books of 2010.”

    Niemann navigates New York’s subway system in this playful love letter to public transportation.

    Readers follow two children and their father, pictured as transit map-style stick figures, who spend a rainy day exploring routes.

    “Riding the A requires some patience/ if you plan to visit all 44 stations,” they advise. The trains occasionally acquire some light personification.

    “The 7 is on his way to meet his friends at Times Square, 42nd Street.” After the F and G lines separate at Bergen Street, “The G says, ‘Don’t cry. I will meet you again at Roosevelt Avenue!’”

    The tone is largely celebratory. His folksy gouaches* are color-coded to match the various subway lines, and his pitchblack backdrops make the colors explode, while alluding* to tunnel interiors.

    After his studies in Germany, Niemann moved to New York City in 1997. His work has appeared on the covers of The New Yorker, Atlantic Monthly, The New York Times Magazine and American Illustration, and has won awards from AIGA, the Art Directors Club and American Illustration.