YELLOW COPTER

A rhyming picture book about a yellow rescue helicopter geared toward toddlers.

Simple, onomatopoeic text and bright illustrations tell the story of a new, yellow rescue helicopter that receives its first assignment. The smiling, friendly-looking rescue copter is rendered in bold colors that contrast nicely with the gray-blue background. The unencumbered art style helps make the various parts of a helicopter easily identifiable. Some double-page spreads focus on the names of the helicopter parts (rotors, tail boom, skids, etc.), which should appeal to readers who are interested in mechanical transportation. The plot concerns a teacher who is stuck at the top of a Ferris wheel and needs saving. While both the group of ethnically diverse students watching from the ground and the teacher up on the wheel look distressed, they do not look afraid, and the tone is one of hope, which should assuage anxious readers. Whenever the words “yellow copter” appear in the text, they are always printed in yellow, which makes sense and will help teach color association, but other words arbitrarily printed in colored type may confuse young readers. The interpretation of the sound (“whup, whup, whup”) helicopters make—as well as other sounds—should make for a bouncy read-aloud.

A good choice for young transportation lovers.