Cars

Gr 2-5 This pop-up overview includes "Early Cars," "Supercars," "Everyday Cars," "Record-Breaking Cars," and "Racing Cars." As implied by these headings, there are many individual vehicles described, supplemented by a small amount of historical context. The first four spreads are printed in portrait orientation so that the book must be opened top to bottom, then turned for the final landscape spread. The paper engineering or pull tab occupies the gutter on the first four spreads, making the upper page somewhat awkward to read. The text consists of an introductory paragraph in bold type followed by a series of captioned illustrations (some of which are movable). The writing is somewhat dry, and the book is far more text-heavy than in most pop-ups. Statements like "the current land speed record is held by]" and "at this stage no major car manufacturer is seriously developing this [solar] technology" are dated. The book ends abruptly with no summary or conclusion. For a volume that celebrates cars, the paper engineering is, disappointingly, not very movement-oriented. Besides scenes that pop up with the opening of pages, the book offers mainly sliders and liftable flaps, many of which are small and difficult to find. The movement of the sliding tabs is not smooth, and it is often difficult to return them to their original positions. Because of the text printed on many pull tabs, readers must often pause in manipulating movable parts if they wish to read the full content."Heidi Estrin, Feldman Children's Library at Congregation B'nai Israel, Boca Raton, FL" Copyright 2010 Media Source Inc.