The Life of a Car by Susan Steggall
| The Life of a Car by Susan Steggall | |
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| Category: Children's Non-Fiction | |
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Reviewer: Lorraine McDonald
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| Summary: A super, factual book aimed at the very young, illustrating the life cycle of one car through the medium of collage. See it made, bought, driven, washed and – oops – CRASHED. Colourful, entertaining and educational fun. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 32 | Date: July 2014 |
| Publisher: Frances Lincoln Children's Books | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 978-1847804211 | |
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As the daughter of a car worker and the mother of a little boy who is fascinated by wheels, The Life of a Car stood out on the shelf. Part of the Busy Wheels series, this non fiction picture book illustrates the life cycle of a car from manufacture to scrapping with the help of just the odd word or two or three.
It’s great to see a factual picture book aimed at very young children. With about three words per page, lots of phrase repetition and self explanatory illustrations it’s extremely accessible. Although there is no story as such, The Life of a Car has social and human interest beyond mechanics. This car has one careful lady owner in its lifetime – well given the double page spread CRASH perhaps not so careful. The lady has two children who are along for the ride plus there are a range of other characters on most pages. It’s fun to ponder what everyone is up to, what they are doing and where they are going as they make their appearance on the street, garage forecourt or car wash. The presence of a couple of dogs in cars adds to the amusement. After wheels, they are my boy’s current passion. I was obviously turning too fast at one point as a pudgy fist zoomed out and grabbed the 'drive the car' page so he could look some more. Naughty Mummy. Shame this isn’t a board book so I could leave him to peruse alone.
The collage pictures that capture each stage of the car’s life are a million miles away from your average Heynes manual. Bright, cheerful and not too simplistic they remind me of the animated sequences that used to punctuate most episodes of Sesame Street. The texture of the materials gives depth and movement – perfect for the transport theme in this book. This edition is dove tailed, start and finish, with a super montage of multiple cars that is vivid and engaging. Original art work is available for purchase on the author’s website. Sadly, not surprisingly, this is priced out of pocket money range.
The Life of a Car is a super book that is bound to find an enthusiastic audience amongst the under 6’s, particularly, though not exclusively, boys. It left both me and my boy wanting more. Lucky for him, there are five other books in this series with a transport related theme. We fancy the train themed Rattle and Rap next. From brmm brmm to choo choo!
For a three dimensional view of cars, take a look at Cars - A Pop-Up Book Of Automobiles by Robert Crowther.
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You can read more book reviews or buy The Life of a Car by Susan Steggall at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
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