The Children’s Book Review | July 11, 2015
My kids are obsessed with anything that goes these days. Construction trucks. School buses. Airplanes. You name it, they can’t get enough of it. Here are a few of our favorite books of Things That Go:
Red Light, Green Light
Written and Illustrated by Yumi Heo
This board book is perfect for young readers aged 2-5. It’s an easy way to introduce them to the various signs you see on the road (One Way Street, Stop Signs, Railroad Tracks), and the illustrations are pleasant and not harsh the way some children’s books are. We have read this book at least twenty times in the past two days, and my two, three, and five year old boys all LOVE it. It has also stimulated many conversations in the car about traffic signals and signs (“The light is red! What does that mean?” and “That sign has a picture of people walking! What should we do?”). The book is also interactive and has sturdy flaps that have not been destroyed by my eager two year old. Yet.
Ages 2-5 | Publisher: Cartwheel books | June 30, 2015 | ISBN-13: 978-0545744638
Planes Go
Written and Illustrated by Steve Light
A sturdy board book with fetching watercolor illustrations, this is a fun read because it involves a great deal of noise making (“The jumbo jet goes wheeeeeeeeee vrrrrrrrrrrruuuuuuu hmmmmmmmmmmm”) that your kids can join in with, along with providing fun discussions of which vehicles make which noises. It’s a simple, fun, noisy read, and the oversized board book format is effective in really drawing out the sounds!
Ages 2-5 | Publisher: Chronicle books | August 12, 2014 | ISBN-13: 978-1452128993
The Ultimate Book of Vehicles
By Anne-Sophie Baumann and Didier Balicevic
This book is so cool. Every single page is filled with pictures of vehicles from around the world, and it has lift the flaps, pop-ups, pull-tabs, and even working arms to some of the construction vehicles. Largely interactive, it has all of the vehicles labeled and grouped so you can explain to your child the purposes of each (my five year old was particularly riveted by the French pooper scooper scooter). I would definitely recommend ages 4 and up because some of the pull tabs are delicate and overzealous toddlers may get easily excited and pull things off, and some of the pieces are potential choking hazards. This book has sections on Agriculture, Commercial Transportation, Fishing, Space travel—something for everyone!
Ages 3-9 | Publisher: Twirl (Chronicle Books) | March 18, 2014 | ISBN-13: 978-2848019420
This list of transportation books was curated by Amanda Lynch. Follow along with our Airplanes, Cars, Construction, School Bus Books, Transportation and Trucks tags to discover more of awesome kids books.
