A guessing-game introduction to wheels and the vehicles that use them.
Sandwiched between opening and closing spreads, two-spread pairs provide some clues as to a vehicle and then the answer, the latter separated from the former by a wheel-shaped die-cut page. Each verso provides a one- or two-sentence clue written in rhymed verse, ending with the same question: “CAN YOU GUESS WHAT I AM?” For a clue, a full image of the wheel in question appears on the same page below the text, the recto is a 90-degree slice of that tire, and a little bit of the scene on the following page is visible below the tire edge. The page turn reveals the answer and features a scene with diverse people using or boarding the conveyance. For the spreads about a train, a bit of the train platform, tracks, and waiting passengers are visible from behind the train wheel. When the page is turned, the almost-double-page spread reveals the train and passengers waiting in the station. This format works for some of the vehicles, such as the bicycle, police car, and stroller, but most of the larger modes of transport, such as the school bus and the garbage truck, are truncated in odd ways due to the wheel-shaped page. Ward’s art is cheery, with muted swaths of color and easily identifiable imagery.
An entertaining vehicle that has a few dings. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: July 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-06-286863-3
Page Count: 30
Publisher: HarperFestival
Review Posted Online: Aug. 26, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION
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Two pirates and their parrot companion embark on adventures to the tune of “Row, Row, Row Your Boat.”
Following Car, Car, Truck, Jeep (2018), Charman and Sharratt team up again for this swashbuckling, musical tale. The two buccaneers and their parrot spend a day at sea engaged in such maritime activities as scrubbing the deck and hoisting the sail along with quintessentially piratical chores like digging up buried treasure. At the end of the day—which culminates in a nonviolent walk across the plank—the two pirates return home. Charman’s rhyming text has a nice cadence, and thanks to the cover note to sing along to the tune of “Row, Row, Row, Your Boat,” it moves along at a nice clip. For the most part, the rhymes work neatly into the tune so that it reads easily the first time through. Sharratt’s black-outlined illustrations are boldly colored and eye-catching. The pirates themselves are not obviously gendered; one presents white and the other has light-brown skin. Most of the ocean creatures have anthropomorphized features—a mostly successful choice with the exception of the jellyfish and octopus, shown awkwardly with humanlike noses and smiles (and, oddly, eyebrows for the octopus). Overall, this one holds high appeal for little readers, and the nature of the singsong-y, rhyming text will make it a highly requested reread.
A perfect piece of treasure it is not, but shiver me timbers, it’s fun. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0319-0
Page Count: 24
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Dec. 8, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2020
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A chunky board book with ingenious gatefolds, flaps, die-cuts, and construction trucks galore.
Like its series predecessors, this title has ample toddler appeal. Not only is its construction-site theme a passion for many children, its bold colors and thoughtful design will engage little hands and eyes as they pore over the pages. After the first two spreads show a wrecking ball smashing and crashing to open the book, two children peer out, asking, “WHAT’S GOING ON HERE?” and “CAN I LOOK, TOO?” Their pages open up as side-by-side gatefolds to reveal a vast scene with “SO MANY TRUCKS! SO MANY WORKERS!” Subsequent spreads home in on individual vehicles plied by racially diverse workers and their respective roles in building up a city block. Layout includes gatefolds that open vertically up and down as well as horizontally left and right, and many pages are shaped to visually echo the vehicles and objects depicted. While such familiar fare as a bulldozer, dump truck, and a crane appear, less-common vehicles and equipment emerge as well, with some of the more dramatic gatefolds and die-cuts revealing a tunnel borer, a massive bridge builder that spans valleys, and sky cranes hovering above like superpowered helicopters. The book culminates as workers take a lunch break and then throw themselves back into work to “BUILD, BUILD, BUILD ALL OVER TOWN!”
Sure to inspire calls of “READ IT AGAIN!” (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 19, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-4197-2569-2
Page Count: 90
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: Oct. 10, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2018
Categories: CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION
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