Review by Booklist Review
Ages 2-4. This is a simple picture book, simple in the best sense. Each illustration is distilled to the essence of its graphic forms. Boldly shaped blocks of brilliant colors combine to make recognizable figures and objects, which in turn create dynamic scenes that illustrate the first-person narrative. The story is simple too, short enough to engage a toddler, yet with a nice twist at the end. The narrator introduces his car and its many useful features and he demonstrates how carefully he drives--stopping for pedestrians, reading signs. The twist comes when he explains that he drives his car to work where he boards a bus: he's the driver. Those who equate simple with easy or dull will be delighted with the colors, shapes, and composition that Barton manipulates so playfully and so precisely. Sometimes electric combinations of colors set up visual effects that keep the eyes in motion over the double-page spreads. In more peaceful pictures, perfectly placed elements of the design create pleasing effects reminiscent of a collage by Matisse. For young children intrigued by cars, this book is simply wonderful. --Carolyn Phelan
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
With just a few words per page, Barton (Machines at Work) manages to convey simple car facts and an ending with a twist. "I am Sam/ This is my car," begin the first two spreads. Sam adores his red Beetle-esque car (it comically mirrors his own chunky physique), and he takes all the responsibilities of ownership seriously from maintenance ("My car needs oil/ and a full tank of gasoline") to obeying the traffic laws ("I stop for pedestrians"). Like any car buff, he loves to explain how his automobile works. "My car has lights to see at night," accompanies a painting of Sam driving under a starry sky as the headlights illuminate the typography. On the next page, Sam adds, the car also has "windshield wipers to see in the rain" a lovely scene that Barton renders from the perspective of the car hood, so that readers gaze at the reassuringly unfazed Sam through a curtain of silvery blue drops. Youngsters will be heartened to know that even when Sam goes to work, he gets to stay behind a wheel: he's a bus driver. Barton's world looks as if it were assembled from a toddler's collection of brightly colored building blocks, while his minimalist text has a plainspoken eloquence and subtle rhythm that will survive countless readings. Ages 2-up. (Aug.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Sam takes good care of his bright red car. He keeps it clean and makes sure that it has oil and gasoline. He also obeys the traffic laws, reads the street signs, drives carefully, and introduces readers to his vehicle's many parts. He drives his car many places, but at work he's behind the wheel of-a big, green bus. Typical of Barton's style, the illustrations are simple and stylized, but perfectly suited to the text. Bold, complementary colors are featured against yellow backgrounds. The book will find a home with youngsters who enjoy books about cars, trains, buses, and the like. Combine it with Donald Crews's Freight Train (Greenwillow, 1978) to get a toddler or preschool storytime rolling.-Roxanne Burg, Thousand Oaks Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
"I am Sam. This is my car. I love my car. I keep my car clean." Big, bold type accompanies big, bold pictures showing Barton's chunky Playskool-style Sam with blue baseball cap. His car is red with purple wheels and green hubcaps. Sam cleans his car, gives it gas, and points out all its parts. As he drives to work, we see all the road signs he obeys. The details are spot-on, neither overcomplicated nor simplistic. While the overall look of the book is similar to Barton's past picture books, this time he's using a computer and Photoshop. The heavy black outline is gone, as are the visible brush strokes that used to fill in his shapes. Now each color is flat and pure, but the shapes' edges are reassuringly uneven, avoiding the too-perfect look that is the pitfall of much computer art. The simple, child-friendly book, ideal for group read-alouds, takes a little twist at the end: Sam is a bus driver. Vehicle-obsessed toddlers will line up for a ride. From HORN BOOK, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Fledgling car-enthusiasts can learn all about the wonderful world of automobiles as Sam proudly touts the merits of his zippy red car. From oil changes to filling up at the gas station, short sentences take readers on a basic tour of car care and maintenance. "I love my car. I keep my car clean." Even the complex workings of a car's innards are rendered comprehensible under Sam's tutelage, giving readers a simple overview of the chassis and body. Barton highlights all the things youngsters find so intriguing about automobiles, such as the marvels of headlights and windshield wipers. He also includes safety tips for good measure, giving future drivers an awareness of responsible driving: Sam diligently follows the rules of the roads and observes all the traffic signs. Lo and behold, when Sam arrives to work, he drives a bus for a living, saying farewell to readers with a jaunty toot of the bus's horn. Byron taps into a child's wonder at what adults often perceive as mundane-and suddenly an ordinary car becomes a fascinating mystery to be explored. The neon bright artwork featuring stout-figured people and objects is tailor-made for young audiences. With a dazzling kaleidoscope of energetic hues illuminating the pages, small children will be entranced by this appealing tale. (Picture book. 2-5)
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
