I remember reading Richard Scarry to a child I babysat for in high school, but I still let this book sit on our shelf for a while unread. So I'm going to put a few books on a shelf here to remind myself, for when I need to buy books for kids. I keep wanting to buy books as presents for toddlers I know, but then when I get to the bookstore, I draw a blank on which books have really been a hit with Leo and me. Most importantly, he finds it a lot of fun (and less importantly, so do I!) Scarry has not put a foot wrong here, and both myself and my son would highly recommend. My son adores this book, is invested in the story and is engaged in learning more about his favourite subject. Richard Scarry was ahead of his time, and again, I’m grateful for that.

Ma puts the snow chains on and Grandma owns a farm and operates a tractor. The badass police officer, the mechanic who repairs trucks, the driver of a sports car. Props to Scarry for including some female characters, and not just prissy ones. My son prefers the doughnut car and “Auntie Pastry”, which have both resulted in much hilarity. I enjoy the surreal pies, melons and pickles that I recognise from Scarry’s other books. The language used addresses the child head-on and involves them in the action: “Look!”, “Now what?”, “Oh no!” On every page are questions and puzzles that encourage close observation of the details. Many exciting subplots ensue along the way, including a detour through the airport and a car on fire. The busy pages are crammed full of labelled illustrations of every mode of transport you could imagine (and loads of new vocabulary to learn, even for young vehicle experts!) These are accompanied by two main stories: one of a (pig) family on a journey to a picnic, and another of a (cat) police officer chasing a terrible (dog) driver. Who I can’t thank enough for his refreshing take on the genre.Ĭombining information, mockumentary, eye spy and story in equal measure, Cars and Trucks and Things that Go is the solution to boring-vehicle-book fatigue. Reading labelled engine parts does get a little dry after a while. But after the tenth or eleventh such book on its twentieth or thirtieth reading, I am done. I try to jazz up these reads with ad-libbed extra factoids and fun traffic noises. Which is great, because that’s what he’s into. With that comes a propensity towards a certain type of book: non-fiction, diagrammatical, straightforward, terminology-based. Like many other children, my son is OBSESSED with vehicles.

Cars and trucks and things that go book