I purchased and reviewed a previous book in this series, focused on construction trucks, a few years ago and it was fun to see a new set of vehicles portrayed. This book is focused on transportation and I was delighted to see that at least some of them appear to be set in Chicago, which is where my audience is most likely to have encountered urban transportation.
The first spread introduces a range of community helpers/transportation workers, four presenting male, one presenting female. Each worker introduces the type of bus they drive, starting with a "road trolley". The vehicle is shown on the facing page with a few simple arrows pointing to elements like the "headlights" or "cable car design". Lift the flap, an entire page, and you'll see an extended spread of the vehicle in motion. There is a mass transit bus, taking people to the Chicago sightseer spot of The Bean, a tram running on a cable, double-decker bus in London, and a monster truck bus. Technically, this last is not used for transportation - it's a school bus that has been reworked into a monster truck, apparently. The final spread brings back all the workers and their vehicles and the lifted spread shows all the areas where the vehicles run. Finn, a small blonde boy, is shown on the back cover with the explanation that he loves all kinds of vehicles.
Verdict: Vehicle books are always popular and, although people call them stereotypical there are actually relatively few published, especially ones that specifically appeal to the youngest children. While the artwork is a little blurry for a board book audience, this makes a nice addition to any board book collection, even more so for those in an urban area where kids can recognize familiar transportation methods. Also, I now know that school bus monster trucks are a Thing!
ISBN: 9781486722754; Published October 2022 by Flowerpot Press; Review copy provided by publisher; Donated to the library
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