About this product: Although this book was around when many of today's parents were youngsters, it has remained a steadfast must-have in every toddler's library. For starters, it's a great vocabulary guide that names the many things that go (and some that haven't a prayer of going, but are great fun to imagine anyway). It's also teeming with detail-rich scenes and characters on every page, teaching children the rewards of looking long and closely (such as finding the hidden "Goldbug" in each spread). Along the way it entertains with the silly and slapstick--everything from toothpaste and toothbrush cars to six fire department vehicles that show up to extinguish a ladybug-size fire in a miniature pink convertible. What's most amazing about this book, however, is its longevity. When you purchase it for your fledgling talker, you should consider it an investment. Even 11-, 12-, and 13-year-olds are known to pore over the book nostalgically, cooing at Lowly Worm and eagerly tracking Officer Flossie's book-long chase after that irresponsible, speedster driver in a cowboy hat. (Ages 2 and older) --Gail Hudson
About this product: The world of Cars just got even bigger.
This book introduces 200 minor characters and "extras" featured in the movie and spotlighted in the Blu-Ray edition. From RVs and security SUVs to racecars and helicopters, kids will love meeting all of the new vehicles and reading the humorous descriptions about them. Plus, the jacket will be printed on the reverse so it can be used as a poster!
About this product: "If i built a car, it’d be totally new! Here are a few of the things that i’d do. . . ." Jack has designed the ultimate fantasy car. inspired by zeppelins and trains, Cadillacs and old planes, with brilliant colors and lots of shiny chrome, this far-out vision is ready to cruise! there’s a fireplace, a pool, and even a snack bar! After a tour of the ritzy interior, robert the robot starts up the motor . . . and Jack and his dad set off on the wildest test drive ever!
About this product: Denied college, Bev Donofrio lost interest in everything but riding around town in cars, drinking and smoking, and rebelling against authority. She got married and divorced and finally ended up in an elite New England university, books in one arm, child in the other. A book about the compromise between being your own person and fitting into society. Author readings.
Six months after its American introduction in 1985, the Yugo was a punch line; within a year, it was a staple of late-night comedy. By 2000, NPR’s Car Talk declared it “the worst car of the millennium.” And for most Americans that’s where the story begins and ends. Hardly. The short, unhappy life of the car, the men who built it, the men who imported it, and the decade that embraced and discarded it is rollicking and astounding, and one of the greatest untold business-cum-morality tales of the 1980s. Mix one rabid entrepreneur, several thousand “good” communists, a willing U.S. State Department, the shortsighted Detroit auto industry, and improvident bankers, shake vigorously, and you’ve got The Yugo: The Rise and Fall of the Worst Car in History.
Brilliantly re-creating the amazing confluence of events that produced the Yugo, Yugoslav expert Jason Vuic uproariously tells the story of the car that became an international joke: The American CEO who happens upon a Yugo right when his company needs to find a new import or go under. A State Department eager to aid Yugoslavia’s nonaligned communist government. Zastava Automobiles, which overhauls its factory to produce an American-ready Yugo in six months. And a hole left by Detroit in the cheap subcompact market that creates a race to the bottom that leaves the Yugo . . . at the bottom.
About this product: Ready, set, GO! Lightning McQueen, the rookie hot-shot race car, is screaming his way down the track on his way to winning the Piston Cup. But when he gets stuck in a slow little town called Radiator Springs, McQueen must learn a valuable lesson about friendship—fast. This beautifully illustrated Read-Aloud Storybook is the complete retelling of Disney presentation of a Pixar film latest computer-animated film, Cars.
About this product: Did you know that Mater was once the famous bulldozer fighter, El Materdor? Or that he was a daredevil named Mater the Greater? Or that he was a heroic rescue truck? Three of Mater’s tall tales are collected in one fantastic hardcover storybook featuring Mater, Lightning McQueen, and all their friends from Cars.
About this product: Sam may be a man of few words, but he is certainly eloquent on the subject of his car. With a bright, bold palette of mostly primary colors, author-illustrator Byron Barton (Trucks, Planes, Machines at Work, etc.) deftly depicts the fondness Sam has for his chunky little car and the care with which he treats it. "I love my car. / I keep my car clean. / My car needs oil / and a full tank of gasoline." Sam also describes the parts of his car, how to drive carefully, and where he likes to go in his car. The story concludes with a twist, sure to delight already rapt readers.
Sam and his acquaintances are unusual-looking, blocky figures, with big black blobs for eyes, and more blobs for nose and mouth. Characters and objects are reminiscent of the cars, signs, and figures in a child's play station. Small details are appealing: the mechanic is a woman, and the car's headlights bathe a portion of the text in yellow. This should be required reading for every driver's ed student; we can only hope that the repeated readings this book is bound to receive will sink in to preschoolers' minds for future recall: "I obey the laws. / I stop for pedestrians. / I read the signs." This is a lovely picture book. (Ages 2 to 5) --Emilie Coulter