Summary:
Buckle up for
an exuberant ride humming with energetic rhymes and whimsical,
retro art from a masterful team.
Black car,
green car,
nice car, mean car.
Near car, far car.
Whoa Bizarre car
Ready to hit
the road? Gear up for a nonstop parade of shapes, sizes, sounds,
and even smells in a wild array of cars packed with big personalities,
awesome features, and eccentric passengers. Driven by Peter Stein's
bouncing verse, Bob Staake's high-powered artwork merges vibrant
color and crisp, dynamic design with humor, warmth, and whimsy.
This rousing excursion is sure to thrill all fans of things that
go, as well as aficionados of the illustrator's signature style.
Sample image
from book (above)
School Library
Journal:
PreS-Gr 1-Rhythmic
verse and lively illustrations showcase autos of every color,
size, style, and speed. "Cars and cars and/ yet still MORE
cars!/Millions, billions, cars-GALORE cars!" Just when readers
think there couldn't be any more variations, the text revs up
with a new characteristic or action. The rhyme, similar to Patricia
Hubbell's Cars: Rushing! Honking! Zooming! (Marshall Cavendish,
2006), cruises smoothly for the most part, changing from slow
to fast lane with only a few bumps. The illustrator's familiar
cartoon style easily matches the text. Crisp, clean lines and
bright colors pop against the white background, while black traffic-filled
roads crisscross and loop around the pages. Readers will eagerly
search for and find every vehicle mentioned. Car-crazy kids will
appreciate both the rhyme and the pictures.
Kirkus Reviews:
A wacky roadway
of discovery awaits readers in Stein and Staake's affectionate
tribute to the automobile and its infinite design possibilities.
With Seusslike rhymes and silliness, they create a world of diverse
vehicles, each an extension of its owner and an expression of
individuality. Comical cars zoom by with playful text in tow:
"Rusty, dusty, / hunk-of-junk car. / Stinky, yucky, / smells-like-a-skunk
car." Staake anchors most illustrations with a black, energetic
roadway full of merges, curves, loops and angles. Each spread
contains an intriguing pattern, offering new objects for discovery
with each turn of the page. Auto-lovers will adore his whimsical
illustrations-done in a '50s modern design aesthetic-of tractors,
tow trucks, race and rocket cars, and all will find humor in
his expressive characters. His sense of fun extends beyond fanciful
car designs; readers will love spotting the occasional alligator,
giraffe or rhino behind the wheel. The eminently chantable text
will likely make this a fast favorite with lovers of things that
go, so be ready for many round trips. One bright and lively ride.
(Picture book. 3-6)
School Library
Journal:
The wackiest
picture book in the last ten years.
Get Your Book Signed By Bob
|