Ideal for babies and toddlers who just go, go, go! (Board book. 1-3)
Clearly labeled images of both familiar and special-use vehicles help toddlers build vocabulary.
Two introductory pages of the general category “Around town” feature 13 common modes of transportation: a bicycle, bus, taxi, tram, etc. The next pages sort things that go by function or locale: in the air, on water, at the races, plus trucks, tractors, and rescue vehicles. Building equipment and mega-machines get their own pages too. Six to 10 somewhat static two-dimensional images on each page are shown against contrasting solid-color backgrounds. Some include action to talk about—like the stunt plane shown upside down, the fishing boat with fish in a net, or the firefighter rescuing a cat. The rectangular layout and consistent placement of the labels reinforce pre-reading skills. A double-page spread highlights 13 “Vehicle colors” while avoiding sexist stereotypes. (An ice cream truck is pink; a motor scooter is purple.) A page of “Make-believe” stretches the imagination, with fanciful modes of travel: broomstick, flying carpet, fairy wings, and more. “My things that go” highlights toys that move: a trike, roller skates, a rocking horse, a paper plane, etc. The colorful images and uncluttered layout made possible by an extra-large (11 inches square) trim make this book suitable for both shared readings and independent study.
Ideal for babies and toddlers who just go, go, go! (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Feb. 12, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4654-7959-4
Page Count: 16
Publisher: DK Publishing
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
With plenty to see, hear, and identify, young children will enjoy the many busy cities and the plethora of vehicles in them.
Vehicles, geography, and onomatopoeia come together in this sturdy board book for toddlers.
Cartoonish illustrations are active, colorful, and vibrant, and they buzz with vehicular activity. Each double-page spread focuses on a different city, presenting a well-known city landmark and the city skyline. The name of the city is also clearly indicated: on a big red double-decker bus in rainy London, on a young man’s T-shirt at a train station in Mexico City, on a child’s hat in Vancouver. And what the toddlers are really going to be interested in is the assortment of vehicles in all those cities. Spare narrative text is enhanced by onomatopoeia, which adds interest and action: the “zoooooooooooooooom” of a bullet train in Hong Kong, the “woo woo woo” of a police car and the “wee uuu wee uuu” of an ambulance in Tokyo, and the quiet “whir whir whir” of a stroller in Vancouver. Diverse adults and children, with skin and hair of many different shades, are present in all the cities, and women are shown driving a fire engine in New York, a bulldozer in Seattle, a bicycle in Paris, and, with a headscarf, flying the Dubai Air plane.
With plenty to see, hear, and identify, young children will enjoy the many busy cities and the plethora of vehicles in them. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Oct. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-947458-27-7
Page Count: 13
Publisher: Duo Press
Review Posted Online: Dec. 4, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
Other books cover the same ground. Still, the interactive possibilities, salient information, and predictable text make this...
Active toddlers will quickly figure out how to make the interactive wheels on this board book spin in tandem.
Initially part of a dump truck, with successive page turns, the raised wheels embedded in two die-cut circles cut through each page become part of a steamroller, excavator, concrete mixer, bulldozer, and more. This design works for the youngest builders, but older toddlers will wonder why the caterpillar treads of the streamroller, excavator, and crane don’t move with the wheels. The final vehicle, a crane, reveals the trick that makes the wheels turn together—a center sprocket. Two sentences of rhyming text per page provide basic information about each truck and its role on a construction site. One (seemingly arbitrarily chosen) word in each sentence is highlighted in a larger font. The name of each vehicle is also printed in enlarged type in white block letters outlined in a contrasting color. Pictures of the chunky, colorful vehicles against solid-color backgrounds give toddlers something else to talk about, but turning the pages and spinning the wheels remain the focus. The repetitive text on the recto page below the wheels quickly becomes a refrain for young readers: “Make my wheels spin. Let construction begin!”
Other books cover the same ground. Still, the interactive possibilities, salient information, and predictable text make this title road ready for the sandbox set. (Board book. 18 mos.-3)Pub Date: Feb. 26, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-338-25681-9
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Jan. 27, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2019
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