Despite enticing visuals, does not serve the armchair traveler well.
An unusual seek-and-find book about subways in 10 countries around the world.
Each section (in alphabetical order, by city name) starts with a double-page spread offering a horizontal panel of basic facts. Above this is a view of the train exteriors, with windows showing the people inside. On the right-hand side, a three-quarter page opens to reveal another double-page spread, which focuses on the people in the train cars and the stations. This design allows a panel with nine or 10 objects, labeled “Find,” related to the city and country to appear on the right on each spread of each section. The illustrations are intensely colored, with heavy black outlines used to delineate each stylized figure. Every glimpse brings a story to life, with a broad range of diverse characters taking part. Family groups, friends, individuals are all pictured as they would be on trains everywhere. People are eating, drinking, and taking selfies. Most, although not all, of the objects to be found are explained in a glossary, which holds mystifying gaps. Why not explain what a balalaika is or the significance of a Russian bear? Why define kimchi but not bibimbap? The illustrations definitely engage the reader, and finding the objects will be fun, but the presentation leaves something to be desired, both for the true subway aficionado and the child (or adult helper) looking for cultural background.
Despite enticing visuals, does not serve the armchair traveler well. (map) (Informational picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Aug. 4, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-908714-63-3
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Cicada Books
Review Posted Online: March 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2020
A small but choice set of technological marvels for budding trainiacs.
A parade of locomotives, from the sprightly Patentee of 1833 to the next generation of maglev speedsters.
Drawn with Biesty’s customary superfine linework and meticulous attention to detail, the eight spread-filling behemoths here (all shown pulling just one or two passenger cars except for one diesel engine with a longer line of diverse freight carriers) are viewed from high or low angles to accentuate their massive bulk and dramatic lines. All are kitted out with flaps to afford viewers inside glimpses of boilers and engines, passenger accommodations, and control rooms. There are also numerous descriptive labels and smaller images arranged around the featured train in each spread. Though the small passengers and crew all seem to be white, they do effectively convey senses of scale and period. Like other entries in the Inside Story series, heavy paper stock and rounded corners afford at least a certain amount of durability.
A small but choice set of technological marvels for budding trainiacs. (Informational novelty. 6-8)Pub Date: Oct. 17, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7636-9647-4
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Sept. 17, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2017
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Like its series mates from Giant Vehicles (2014) on, a pleaser for fans of big rigs.
Die-cut flaps offer glimpses inside eight 20th-century fliers, from Louis Bleriot’s 1909 Type XI to the space shuttle.
Biesty’s exactingly detailed painted portraits are the stars of the show—each presenting a type of passenger liner or freight hauler (most of them big and bulky) poised in flight, viewed from slightly above or below. Each also features four or so inconspicuous flaps that lift to reveal neatly drawn seats and storage spaces, internal bracing, fuel tanks, toilets, and other points of interest. Along with very brief accounts of each craft’s career, Graham adds surrounding captions that point out ailerons and cockpits, engines, exhaust ducts, and other physical features. Small human figures, most but not all light-skinned, impart a sense of scale. Where space permits, pertinent spot images of related items of interest—the Wrights’ Flyer, Harriet Quimby, a zeppelin, or other side subject—are tucked in. Only two aircraft covered, the U.S. Boeing 747 and the Russian Mil Mi-8 helicopter, are still in common use, so this album may appeal more to fans of aviation’s past than its present or future.
Like its series mates from Giant Vehicles (2014) on, a pleaser for fans of big rigs. (Informational novelty. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 4, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5362-0281-6
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Templar/Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2018
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