Go!

Publishers Weekly

These 23 poems, sung to twangy guitars and soft drumbeats on an enclosed CD, celebrate modes of transportation from ice-cream trucks to "Grandpa's Motorized Wheelchair." "I love cars and I love trains,/ buses, trucks, and big jet planes,/ ships that sail and boats that row,/ I love things that go!" declares the all-inclusive first rhyme. "A Bicycle Built for Two" frames the familiar proposal ("Daisy, Daisy,/ give me your answer do ") in a story of would-be groom "Milton the mouse"; "Police Car" pictures cat cops in pursuit of a feline fish thief. Other selections, like "Skateboard Dream," concern children's everyday lives. The narrator of "My Old Man Drives a Minivan" notices classmates' brand-name cars, then decides, "The most expensive sports car is just a hunk of steel./ It's not the car you drive that counts, it's who's behind the wheel!" To illustrate such eclectic rhymes, Kirk (Snow Family) uses a range of styles, from ultra-smooth oil paintings to less fussy pastels, collages and clay sculptures. His multimedia experiments extend to sound, as he sings and plays guitar with musician friends on the folksy CD. Although he sacrifices refinement for dizzy variety in his illustrations, Kirk keeps the volume motoring along with his consistent theme. All ages. (Sept.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Children's Literature

In this oversized collection of 23 poems/songs about different forms of transportation, bicycles, tricycles, airplanes, buses, rollerblades, skateboards, ice skates, pogo sticks, fire trucks, taxicabs, minivans, police cars, helicopters, motorcycles, ice-cream trucks, trains, subways, submarines, boats and even motorized wheelchairs all get their due. A few of the songs are old favorites, like "The Wheels on the Bus;" the rest are original. As poetry, printed on the page, many of these don't really work¾rhythms are awkward and the lines don't scan (for example, "On the highway, he's an ace. He takes the corners like he's in a Roman chariot race;" "Class suits me just fine, there's lots of stuff I'd like to learn. But I'm a kid with tons of extra energy to burn"). But as songs on the accompanying "free" CD, they prove to be fully singable with a rollicking beat, especially the irresistible "Pogo Stick." The art, varying in style from acrylic to collage and photographed clay sculpture, is extremely fun and eye-catching, well matched with the toe-tapping tunes. 2001, Hyperion, $18.99. Ages All. Reviewer: Claudia Mills

School Library Journal

K-Gr 2-Modes of travel on the road, in the sky, and around the water fill the pages of this book, a mix of folk classics and original texts. Artwork is done in mediums as varied as the individual poems that all revolve around motion and music. Poems entitled "I Wanna Be an Airplane" and "Grandpa's Motorized Wheelchair" share space with "The Wheels on the Bus" and "A Bicycle Built for Two." Unfortunately the accompanying CD lacks the exuberance and variation in instrumental color and style reflected in the illustrations. With the exception of entertaining sound effects in "Police Car," the rhythmic "Trixie on Her Tricycle," and a creatively folk-styled "I've Been Working on the Railroad," the recording as a whole detracts from the book. It contains unnecessarily long introductions and one song ("Ice Cream Truck") in which the chorus differs from the text. Skip the CD; the art and poetry in the book entertain on their own.-Mary Elam, Forman Elementary School, Plano, TX Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

Transportation in its many varied forms is the theme of this song collection with an accompanying CD. The words to the 23 songs are set as illustrated poetry in an oversized format with huge illustrations of children who seem ready to fly, skate, or ride right off the pages. Kirk (Bus Stop, Bus Go, p. 742, etc.) sings most of the songs on the CD, and he wrote most of the words and music for the original songs as well. The collection also includes a few familiar songs set to fresh rhythms ("I've Been Working on the Railroad" in a blues arrangement and "Row, Row, Row Your Boat" with a calypso beat). Some of the songs are about traditional types of transportation (trains and taxicabs), others are about methods of personal locomotion (a motorized wheelchair, a pogo stick), and still more songs explore popular trends such as Rollerblades, skateboards, and minivans. Kirk's vibrant, motion-filled illustrations are done in several styles, including clay sculpture and collage, with intriguing wheel-covered endpapers. Some of the lyrics don't really stand up as poetry, and a title page and the musical scores for the songs would have been welcome additions, but the catchy songs override these minor objections. Preschool and primary grade teachers will still find this a useful set for the classroom, and the CD (ending with "Sleeping in the Back Seat") is a natural for long car trips. (Picture book/poetry. 3-8)