Read, Read, Read said the Baby: Stanley's Garage by William Bee

This is the second book in a new series by William Bee, featuring Stanley the hamster.

In this title, Stanley has a garage. A succession of animal friends, in differently-colored cars, arrive for help from getting gas to an overheating radiator, to a flat tire. The color of each car is emphasized in the text. Stanley's friend Myrtle, from the first book Stanley the Builder is his last client, calling for a tow. Oily and tired, Stanley goes home for a bath and bed.

This is not, strictly speaking, a board book. It has a thick, padded cover and is a large square, a little under 9x9 inches. The pages are a little thicker than the typical picture book, but definitely not board book thickness - they're not even as thick as cardstock. However, my usual gripe with padded covers - the kids poke holes in them (and I just find them squicky) doesn't apply here as the book's cover is made in such a way that even if you try you can't poke holes in the spine (I tried) and the padding on the cover is very thin - it's really just reinforced and gives slightly under pressure, not a true padded board book at all. I would have no problem putting it either in regular picture books or board books.

William Bee's illustrations for this series have thick, bold lines and bright colors. Each book (so far) has a different general color theme. This one is green, with vivid swathes of color in appropriate places. There is a spread of tools before the title page, which are related to the book's theme. This one shows various tools useful for the featured career.

Verdict: The attractive illustrations, combined with the simple, rhythmic text, make this series the perfect choice for toddlers and also for young beginning readers. This series should have a long and popular life ahead of it and I'm looking forward to more entries - Stanley the Farmer and Stanley's Diner are coming next! Highly recommended.

ISBN: 9781561458042; Published 2014 by Peachtree; ARC and review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library

Visit the other stops on the Stanley blog tour!

Monday: Green Bean Teen Queen
Tuesday: Jean Little Library, Kid Lit Reviews, and Geo Librarian
Wednesday: Chat with Vera
Thursday: Blue Owl