Do you have a kid who’s crazy about wheels?  Two excellent new picture books:  And the cars go… by William Bee, and The Diggers are Coming by Susan Steggall are sure to please the gear-heads in your home.  Both books contain lots of interesting vocabulary words to describe the different types of vehicles and the sounds they make:  "mixers tumble, twist, and turn…..tippers tremble along and trundle about", and both books contain a mystery which is only revealed at the end of the story.   In the case of The Diggers are Coming, the question all along is "what are they building?"  It’s interesting to note the many kinds of construction vehicles necessary to get the job done and to see the progression of the task from empty lot to finished product.       My favorite book of the two, however, is

  

Bee’s and the cars go…., whose title is a play on words leading you to believe one thing, when in reality the opposite is true, because, in fact nothing is going in this funny book.  It’s all about a traffic jam and who, or what, caused it, which becomes the mission of the disgruntled cop, who must grind his motorcycle to a halt to investigate.    The repetitive phrase "and the cars go" describes how each vehicle in the traffic jam sounds when it does move:  “and the car goes brrrmm, brrrrmm, brrmmm…..and the Rolls-Royce (very quietly) goes Whisper, whisper, whisper……and the school bus goes Chug, chug, chuggety chug, “ etc.  As the cop moves up the line of vehicles to uncover the problem, you get a sense of the personalities of each of the drivers stuck in line by what they say to the cop “ Mamma mia!  My ice cream is melting!”.  Be sure to notice the many interesting details in the illustrations, including some hilarious behind-the-scenes antics by a flock of naughty seagulls. 

If either of these two wonderful books becomes a personal favorite of your child (i.e. he wants a repeat reading ad infinitum), feel good knowing the rich vocabulary and expressive sounds will be honing his pre-reading skills while the detailed illustrations sharpen his focus.  Enjoy!   -Miss Meg