Chugging its way onto the bookshelves of vehicle-loving children everywhere.
Powerful locomotives, simple sentences, and vigorous sound effects propel the latest entry in the expanding Amazing Changing Pictures board-book series for toddlers.
This and companion volumes Boats Float and Fire Trucks Rescue are the latest entries in what could just as well be called the Nouns Verb series. Like Glaser’s animal-focused board books (Puppies Chase, 2017, etc.), this trio features a well-curated selection of beautiful stock photographs and short declarative sentences, assorted sounds, and occasional questions. The simple, age-appropriate text ranges from illustrative noises (“Chugga, chugga. CHOO CHOO!”) to more existential concepts: “Where does the train go? / Follow the tracks. CLICKETY-CLACK!” The sound effects make for fun reading aloud for children and caregivers alike, with easily grasped, repeatable phrases. There is a smattering of useful vocabulary in each volume and enough variety and information in each photograph to introduce other terms and concepts as well, from scenic details (mountains, rivers, and forests, for example) to the steam from the engine’s smokestack and the passengers in the train station. The book’s 14 pages are presented in two-page spreads dominated by each photo, with text arranged on thin monochromatic strips in the margin. Sound effects are set in large, bold type, reminding readers to put some oomph into their delivery. These durable books are eye-catching, engaging, and quick and painless to repeat upon request.
Chugging its way onto the bookshelves of vehicle-loving children everywhere. (Board book. 1-3)Pub Date: March 13, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-68152-242-5
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Amicus Ink
Review Posted Online: May 27, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A disappointing twist on a popular theme. More gimmick than engaging.
This noisy board book is designed to thrill tots fascinated with all things construction.
A tactile backhoe digger is center stage on each of the five cutout pages, complete with flaps. Brief rhyming text describes the machine’s actions as it works throughout the day. Animal characters engaged in manual labor or operating other machinery—a bulldozer, crane, road roller, and dump truck—describe more work that goes on at a construction site in small speech bubbles. Finding the mouse in every scene adds to the fun. On each page, a little bird sporting a hard hat invites young builders to press various parts of the silicone digger to activate a range of distinct sounds. The digger’s track pad sounds different from the sound of its arm moving dirt. The problem is that the digger itself is passive; the track pad and arm don’t actually move. The machine stays in the same place on every spread. The caution light beeps but doesn’t light up. Savvy kids will quickly realize that all the sounds are accessible from the first spread without having to turn the pages. The sound is the most engaging part of the book, but with only five sounds, this feature won’t hold most youngsters’ attention for long.
A disappointing twist on a popular theme. More gimmick than engaging. (Novelty board book. 1-3)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-68010-684-8
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: Dec. 2, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2021
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
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