Planes, Trains, and Automobiles

Gr 3 Up—A busy profusion of 100 small aircraft, trains, bikes, automobiles, and ships zoom across eight cardboard fold-out pages in this quasi-book product that also works as a six and a half-foot poster. Intended as "a visual history of modern transportation," the eclectic assortment of vehicles from more than 200 years range from the 1801 Nautilus to 2010's SpaceShipTwo and the giant cruise ship Allure of the Sea. They march across the long spread of pages somewhat chronologically and by type, with air transport at the top and water craft at the bottom. Occasional anomalies interrupt the flow; a train appears between a motorcycle and an automobile rather than up in the train line, for instance. Images are realistic in color and proportion with a fair amount of detail, given their small size, and they are labeled by name and year. The back side of the foldout contains brief bits of information on the vehicles over white silhouettes on blue background. Some small statements mention specific design or mechanical features. Folded inside the back cover are two pages of short explanations of "Ten Things That Got Us Moving Faster." The personal selection of vehicles leaves many gaps and omissions in the history, though the broad inclusion of countries is welcome. The stacked layout provides some interesting views of varied modes of transport sharing approximate time periods. The front-to-back folding may result in a short shelf life in libraries, though there are possibilities for display purposes. This unique book could appeal to some children fond of car, plane, and ship models and might be of interest to libraries collecting fold-out or other toy books.—Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston