An interactive alternative to the many other galleries of conveyances winged, wheeled, or afloat.
Dozens of different vehicles can be set to work or recreational use on a set of magnetized land- or seascapes.
Packaged on punch-out plastic sheets stashed in an attached storage envelope, the 45 vehicles in this French import—from Soyuz and Ariane rockets to a horse-drawn cart—are identified in a visual key at the end. Most are ridden, driven, or otherwise supervised (except for the pilots of the drone and a remote-control submarine, who go unseen) by an actively posed cast that’s diverse in both age and race. Baumann supplies a sparse assortment of banal observations (“With an inflatable raft, people can enjoy floating and relaxing on the water”) scattered over each of the five spacious and largely empty air, land, or water scenes on which the vehicles can be distributed. Like Ines Adams’ Ocean, illustrated by Oliver Latyk (2018), and other titles in the Magnetology series, the plethora of small magnetized pieces offers plenty of opportunity for recognition and play (not to mention treasure hunts, as they will readily scatter). Though not strong enough to hold items on a refrigerator, they will adhere to the sturdy backdrops well enough to stay in place even when the pages are held vertically.
An interactive alternative to the many other galleries of conveyances winged, wheeled, or afloat. (Informational novelty. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2020
ISBN: 979-1-02760-879-9
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Twirl/Chronicle
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A clunky, bare-bones format that will nevertheless appeal to fans of all things truck.
The Gardners, creators of the popular YouTube channel Twenty Trucks, which features ditties on everything from dump trucks to street sweepers, compile their favorite lyrics.
In this substantial collection, readers will find songs about both familiar vehicles, like garbage trucks and cement mixers, and lesser-known, high-appeal wheeled machines such as the impressive rock crawler and road zipper, which moves concrete lane dividers. Apart from an introduction and a glossary, the text is composed primarily of lyrics, which do by and large explain what each truck does so that even those unfamiliar with the tunes or the vehicles will understand their purpose. There is no QR code that directs readers to the songs, which would have been helpful for those not already fans of the YouTube channel. Without the music, some of the text feels repetitive (like “Off-Road Racing Truck”), and for the purposes of the book, an edited version of the original lyrics with more photographs than just one per layout would have made it more appealing to younger readers. The glossary does help deepen reader comprehension and is a thoughtful inclusion. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A clunky, bare-bones format that will nevertheless appeal to fans of all things truck. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: April 4, 2023
ISBN: 9780762482139
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Running Press Kids
Review Posted Online: April 11, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
A short flight, soon past—but with plenty of lift.
An invitation to fledgling readers to admire various types of flying craft (while practicing their prepositions).
A jet plane “soars across the sky,” a glider “glides behind a plane,” and other flyers from a toy airplane to the International Space Station go above, below, between, and around in big, bright stock photographs as Allenby repeatedly urges readers to “Look up high!” Following a picture of two young Black groundlings running “beside” one another while holding a toy plane (an image that abandons the book’s premise, but so what) and a final view of an adult hoisting a smiling toddler (both are Black) overhead (“How would YOU zoom across the sky?”), a section for caregivers, in smaller type, takes over, with suggestions for simple activities that further explore or embody positional relationships (pretend to be an air traffic control officer and an aircraft, take part in “a preposition version of I Spy”). It’s a quick read but well designed to put wind beneath the wings of children working to get their minds around language and parts of speech. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A short flight, soon past—but with plenty of lift. (Informational picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2023
ISBN: 9781772782905
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Pajama Press
Review Posted Online: May 9, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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