Let's Go ABC!

May 28, 2018
Vrooming vehicles of all kinds, carrying a distinctive cast of anthropomorphic animals, invite readers to guess their identities: “Fearlessly, I race ahead./ My siren’s LOUD! My lights flash red!” a fire truck declares. A helicopter—hosting hen, hippo, horse, and hound passengers—describes itself as “a flying acrobat./ A spinning rotor is my hat.” A panda and parrot patrol in a police car, and the letter Q features a royal quail taking a quad bike for a spin. Greene integrates familiar characters and animals into the scenes by virtue of their first letters (squirrels, Santa, and a snowman are all submarine passengers)—the unlikely character groupings add a playful twist for automobile-loving readers. Ages 2–5.

April 1, 2018

PreS-Greene and Kirk join forces again (Push! Dig! Scoop! A Counting Construction Rhyme), this time to tackle the alphabet. This creative and appealing title takes children on a zooming journey with recognizable animal friends through the alphabet. Rhyming text couples with vibrant digitally produced images to invite readers to travel via land, sea, and air. ("I cruise through town out on patrol. Protecting people is my goal! I'm, a...Police Car.") Each page consists of a singsonglike rhyme that makes for a jovial readaloud and then ends with identifying the letter and mode of transportation. Greene and Kirk even tackle more difficult letters with success. ("My click-clack's quicker, guaranteed! I'm an eXpress Train!") The book opens with a spread showing a large truck carrying all 26 capital letters, which makes for an excellent resource for helping children identify letters before searching for each letter within the story. VERDICT Recommended for general purchase for picture book collections.-Kristen Todd-Wurm, Middle Country Public Library, NY

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

March 1, 2018
Here's another ABC devoted to "Things That Go."What gives this transportation alphabet a leg up are the animal characters that act out the scenes. Many of the vehicles that represent the letters are familiar, such as an airplane, a bus, a helicopter, a Jeep, and a limo. Others are more unexpected: dog sled, gondola, "EMS Truck," quad bike, unicycle, "eXpress Train," and zeppelin. The rhythmic, rhyming text is related in first-person voice by each of the vehicles highlighted, while a cast of (mostly) animals rides along. Though not a seek-and-find book, per se, details add additional items coordinated to the letters to look for. A parrot drives a police car as a panda holds a pencil and a pad of paper, for example. On the spread featuring the letters M and N, a mustachioed (and helmeted) mouse rides a motorcycle with a map sticking out of its back pocket, while a narwhal, newt, and, possibly, nuthatch ride a narrowboat. (Unfortunately, there is no legend in the back to identify objects and characters, so the little brown bird in the narrowboat may have caregivers looking through their field guides or just giving up.) It's the interactions among the cast of animals that generate the fun in the full-spread illustrations.There are lots of vehicle-themed alphabet books, but very few are as all-inclusive as this one is. Despite the one flaw, this book soars. (Picture book. 4-7)

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April 1, 2018
Preschool-K From airplane to zeppelin, this dynamic alphabet book presents modes of transportation. On the C page, an electric car carries a chimp and two chickens, while on the D page, a dinosaur drives a dogsled. The text consists of rhymed couplets, each ending with a phrase that pauses for listeners to find the last word. The writing varies in tone according to its subject. One seat. Or two. / Ripples of blue. / A peaceful stream. / I kick back and . . . dream. / I'm a . . . kayak! contrasts with I'm furious-fast! A mighty machine! / A bike with muscle?lean and mean! / I'm a . . . motorcycle! The featured letters are often incorporated into the vehicles or other parts of Kirk's appealing digital illustrations, but when kids realize that the amiable, dressed-animal characters also represent those letters, naming them adds to the fun. The colorful endpapers show a flatbed truck hauling 26 large, sturdy letters, handy for pointing out, naming, and singing the alphabet song. A versatile, enjoyable picture book for kids enthralled by vehicles.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2018, American Library Association.)