The text is dull, but the dazzlingly detailed illustrations and clever flaps make up for it.
Vehicles on the job are put into action with the lift of a flap.
Featuring children’s favorite modes of transportation, from tractors to airplanes, this lift-the-flap board book shows drivable machines at work. The format is simple. The verso of each layout shows a large picture of the vehicle against a plain background, the engine and insides viewable beneath a flap. The recto then shows the same vehicle in action in a larger landscape, with other vehicles typically found in that environment and more flaps. The flaps themselves are more sophisticated than in many other books with manipulatives. A wide trench runs about the perimeter, making it quite easy to grab, especially helpful for little fingers. Furthermore, once the flap is folded open into place, it alters the surrounding image slightly, often conveying movement. A lifeboat rushes down into the water, for example; a bullet train whizzes by; and a plane takes off. The illustrations are incredibly detailed, inviting readers to linger. Children will be delighted by the tiny tractor engine, a miniature fish skeleton being dumped with other refuse into the back of a garbage truck, the materials inside an ambulance. The text pales beside the illustrations, oftentimes stating the obvious—“The cement pours out of the mixer”—without adding interesting factoids. People driving and interacting with these machines are diverse. The companion title, I Want To Be…, similarly explores different occupations.
The text is dull, but the dazzlingly detailed illustrations and clever flaps make up for it. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Aug. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68010-612-1
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Tiger Tales
Review Posted Online: July 27, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The lesson that a lot goes into producing the food we eat is a valuable one, and the trucks make it go down easy.
Young heavy-equipment fanciers can feast on this agriculturally oriented entry in the Finn’s Fun Trucks series.
Farmer Sandy introduces children to some of the heavy gear used to grow and harvest the produce that they eat. Following the same format as the other books in the series, Sandy observes that each machine has its own specific purpose and then challenges readers to guess its function. Featured equipment includes a tractor, plow, spreader, harvester, and baler. Each machine is named on verso and pictured opposite, with three key components labelled; readers are asked to guess what each one does. The page with the diagram then folds out to show the equipment at work, with an explanation of its use. The simple, utilitarian artwork is easily interpreted, and the book introduces some useful industrial and agrarian vocabulary. The fold-out flaps will engage readers eager to see the machinery in action. “A plow attaches to the back of the tractor. It turns the soil over so crops will grow tall and healthy,” for example. After presenting his farm fleet, Sandy, a white man with a gray beard, asks, “Can you guess what they can do when they all work together?” Answer: “They can grow all kinds of great food.” The simultaneously publishing Rapid Responders gives emergency vehicles the same treatment.
The lesson that a lot goes into producing the food we eat is a valuable one, and the trucks make it go down easy. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Aug. 28, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-4867-1488-9
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Flowerpot Press
Review Posted Online: Oct. 27, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2019
Quibbles won’t prevent readers from diving in and marveling
Follow a silver submarine through grand adventures in this French import.
When readers open the durable, oversized cardboard pages they’re immersed in gorgeous, sweeping digital renderings of colorful ocean ecosystems. There’s only a smattering of plot: A tiny submarine plunges underwater to explore but is whisked off course by a violent storm, ultimately traveling to the Arctic, along coral reefs, down to the ocean’s dark trenches, and back up to the sunny surface. Conversationally narrated as though readers are riding along, the text names the species depicted and provides clues to help locate and identify most from among the busyness, though some specimens are missing any contextual hint and would benefit from a label or key. The teeny, thin type is also tricky to see against the large pages. An accompanying, digitally accessible ocean soundtrack is nicely atmospheric but also suffers from vagueness, as without track markers, it’s challenging to match the page with specific movements. But the immersive, multilayered art teeming with intricately drawn crowds of sea creatures set on ethereal backgrounds and the feeling of grand scale admirably capture the majesties under the sea. Variegated background shades of blue and green make the colorful underwater flora and fauna glisten, especially the metallic-inked silver sub and dynamic neon pink and Day-Glo yellow highlights.
Quibbles won’t prevent readers from diving in and marveling . (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: May 28, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4197-3356-7
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Abrams Appleseed
Review Posted Online: Feb. 12, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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