The bright lights of the holiday decor, the imposing nature of Harry and Marv, the toy shop’s design, and every encounter Kevin has with the bird lady all feel straight out of the movie. While the cartoonish style doesn’t resemble the original movie, the color palette does. The star of the book though is Smith’s artwork. My only issue with the book is how at times, it does feel disconnected from the original source material. The traps are less deadly and instead of serious concussions, Harry and Marv are left with a few bruises from a small fall here and there. A lot of the violence is also understandably watered down. That being said, the book is also a lot less scary and easier for young children to digest. In this version, Kevin seems a lot more innocent and less of the mischievous and almost maniacal kid I remember from the movies.

Quirk Books’ Home Alone 2 Lost in New York condenses a lot of the original story and also takes out some of the more inappropriate jokes. With the help of a few new friends, Kevin is determined to save Mr. However, he quickly runs into trouble as Harry and Marv, the burglars who tried to rob his home the year before are in town. Once in New York, Kevin realizes this is his chance to be alone and explore the magical city during the best time of the year. As always, the family is running late for their flight to Florida and in the shuffle, and while trying to find a tissue in his father’s bag, Kevin gets lost and ends up following another man onto the wrong plane. Much like the original film, the book follows Kevin as he once again ends up on his own when his family vacations elsewhere for Christmas. This beloved holiday classic has been illustrated onto the page by Kim Smith. Home Alone 2 Lost in New York, in addition to being a 1992 film written by John Hughes and directed by Chris Columbus, is now a picture book from Quirk Books as part of their Pop Classics series which also features ET: The Extra-terrestrial, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and The Karate Kid.

Home Alone 2 by Kim Smith