Changes

The pig family are heading out for a picnic and – goodness – they are going to have some ride! This is the loose story line storyline that functions as a vehicle (pun intended) to introduce a mind -boggling array of ‘things that go’. In and around Ma and Pa Pig’s house there are no less than seven motors. That’s a quiet page in Richard Scarry’s ''Cars and Trucks and Things That Go''. Prepare to be dazzled along the journey by more vehicles than you ever thought existed all illustrated and labelled. This is an American book so some of the cars, trucks and fire engines may look a little unfamiliar. However, I’m pretty sure though that I never saw a shark car, wolf wagon or pickle truck on either the M5 or the I5.

First published in 1974, ''Cars and Trucks and Things that Go'' has been reissued in a Paul Smith special anniversary hardback edition. The man who is more known for his suits than his stories has restyled this forty -year -old as a handsome hardback, sporting an interactive slip jacket – removing the book turns the traffic lights from red to green and gives the vehicles some go-faster stripes. Whilst book reviews normally focus on the quality of the story rather than the cover price, it is worth a mention that designer fashion costs. In this case approximately three times the price of a standard edition. If you don't blanche at that, perhaps the additional limited edition would also be of interest, one thousand copies at about – well, an awful lot of pocket money. But less of this vulgar talk of filthy lucre and back to the book…

''Cars and Trucks and Things That Go'' is a book where every page needs to be studied to absorb the wild array of contraptions. Though the narrative is thin, interested children will pass many a happy hour poring over the detailed drawings. As if there is not already enough to take in, a small gold bug is introduced at the start. In a precursor to ''Where’s Wally?'' this little fella is to be found hiding in and around the vehicles on every page. The story may well be slight but there is still a lot of fun in the Loony Tune-esque humour. Road rage, criminality and nasty pile -ups abound. Pa pig gets a bad case of sunburn, bursts a tyre on split nails and blunders on to an airport runway. Phew. It’s enough to convince you to stay at home with a good book, with or without a designer jacket.

Whilst 5-9 -year -olds will love the Paul Smith edition of ‘Cars and Trucks and Things That Go’, younger vehicle lovers may prefer the calm illustrations and simple narrative of [[The Life of a Car by Susan Steggall]]. You might also enjoy [[A Day at the Police Station by Richard Scarry]].