And the cars go..

PreS-Gr 1-When a policeman on a motorcycle comes across a line of stopped traffic, he walks to the front of the jam to see what's causing the standstill. Along the way, he passes a station wagon, the Duke and Duchess in a Rolls-Royce, a school bus, a race car, an ice-cream truck, a beach buggy, and a street sweeper. Each vehicle has its own sound, and the occupants each have a comment about the traffic holdup. The cause is Farmer Jake's prize sheep. All of the people get out of their vehicles and help herd the animals back into their field. "And, at last, all the cars go.." The text is clever and amusing, but it's the wonderfully detailed digital illustrations that will keep kids coming back again and again. As in and the Train Goes. (Candlewick, 2007), Bee's collagelike illustrations have a 1960s sensibility. The cars are chock-full of details, from the complicated workings of the street sweeper to the crank on the front of the Rolls. There are plenty of amusing details too, including two very mischievous seagulls. As a bonus, children are encouraged to find 15 hidden snails; it's not easy. A fun read-aloud and a great book to pore over again and again.-Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

With epaulets, medals, and brass buttons gleaming, a well-decorated police officer heads out on patrol. "Here is the traffic, all ground to a halt, / and the policeman calls out... / 'What's causing this holdup? / Move along, now. Move along!'" The vehicles may be at a standstill, but Bee's rhythmic text motors along as the officer investigates the problem. Each double-page spread is devoted to one fancifully detailed auto and its idiosyncratic occupants; both machines and humans have something to say about the situation: "Here is the family, off on their vacation, / and the little girl goes, / 'Are we there yet?' / And the car goes, / Brrrmm brrrmm brrrmm, / brrrmm brrrmm brrrmm." Although digitally created, Bee's stylish compositions have a distinctly sixties vibe. The pages practically vibrate with eye-popping colors held in place with a lively, sure-handed line. A number of visual surprises, including fifteen craftily hidden snails, invite further study, and the predictably patterned, onomatopoeic verses encourage audience participation. When the policeman discovers the bottleneck's source, everyone pitches in to move the woolly obstructions, but the cars (and a dog) have the last word, giving the narrative a neat circularity. This is a nifty companion to Bee's previous transportation ode, And the Train Goes... (rev. 7/07). kitty flynn (c) Copyright 2014. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.