In the pictures, as in a frieze, children can see what happens when you take a plane trip. But the text is both as tum-de-dum and as literal—as mechanical, altogether—as that sentence. The visual drama, too, is mostly confined to the scenes of arrival: people getting off an airport bus and out of a cab; lining up at the ticket counter; milling about in the waiting room. And there is one little boy, first seen on the bus, to watch for as he makes his way finally onto the plane and into his seat. (The finale is of course takeoff—and the plane disappearing into the distance.) What is lacking is any projection of the experience from a child's point of view (we don't, for instance, go through baggage-clearance with the little boy, we just see him emerging into the waiting room)—as well as any information special to a plane trip ("Up front in the cockpit," typically, "the pilots get ready"). But what youngsters could do, beginning with the people on the bus, is to make up their own stories and explanations; if they've actually been on a plane trip, they could provide a running narrative: Barton's pictures are, as usual, cheerful, interestingly composed, and infused with a spark of life.
Pub Date: March 1, 1982
ISBN: 0064431452
Page Count: 36
Publisher: T.Y. Crowell
Review Posted Online: April 17, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: March 1, 1982
Smoother rides are out there.
Mommy and Bonnie—two anthropomorphic rodents—go for a joyride and notice a variety of conveyances around their busy town.
The pair encounter 22 types of vocational vehicles as they pass various sites, including a fire engine leaving a firehouse, a school bus approaching a school, and a tractor trailer delivering goods to a supermarket. Narrated in rhyming quatrains, the book describes the jobs that each wheeled machine does. The text uses simple vocabulary and sentences, with sight words aplenty. Some of the rhymes don't scan as well as others, and the description of the mail truck’s role ("A mail truck brings / letters and cards / to mailboxes / in people's yards) ignores millions of readers living in yardless dwellings. The colorful digitally illustrated spreads are crowded with animal characters of every type hustling and bustling about. Although the art is busy, observant viewers may find humor in details such as a fragile item falling out of a moving truck, a line of ducks holding up traffic, and a squirrel’s spilled ice cream. For younger children enthralled by vehicles, Sally Sutton’s Roadwork (2011) and Elizabeth Verdick’s Small Walt series provide superior text and art and kinder humor. Children who have little interest in cars, trucks, and construction equipment may find this offering a yawner. Despite being advertised as a beginner book, neither text nor art recommend this as an engaging choice for children starting to read independently. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Smoother rides are out there. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-37725-3
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
With minimal text and bright-color illustrations, Crews captures the essence of a plane journey."Boarding. . . Take off. . .Flying over cities. . .Flying into the clouds. . . Time to head down. . ."—the brief captions are hardly needed to accompany the 16 double-spread illustrations showing a small, propeller, driven plane on its way from city to city, day to night. With buildings and vehicles resembling simple wooden toys, the bold, sunny illustrations can be "read" by the youngest. Crews' style has become familiar, through several fine books; this is a worthy companion to the award-winning Freight Train and Truck.
Pub Date: Oct. 20, 1986
ISBN: 0688092357
Page Count: 36
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: April 19, 2012
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 1986
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