Motorcycles

Children's Literature - Janis Flint-Ferguson

The "Extreme Machines" series is a colorful, informative series of books filled with facts and pictures in an encyclopedia-styled format. Intermediate readers will find the pages of this book filled with details and photos of a wide range of motorcycles, from racing bikes through choppers to the future concepts for two wheeled vehicles. On each two page spread there are the photos, a short fact filled description, a specifications chart, and an inset giving readers a website to research for more information. The time line follows the development of motorcycles from 1838 when Scotsman Kirkpatrick Macmillan built the first bicycle, through the 2003 motorcycle built by EZ-Hook that broke the speed record at the Salt Flats in Utah. Though not definitive, it does give readers a sense of the history and development of the machine. The glossary helps readers with the jargon used in discussing motorcycles and the index helps young researchers. Adult readers will appreciate the note warning parents and teachers that websites need to be monitored—though it may sound stereotypical, this may be especially true of the sites designed for "bikers." Reviewer: Janis Flint-Ferguson

Children's Literature - Sara Lorimer

This first-rate book covers motorcycles from the steam-powered wooden-framed bikes of the nineteenth century to speculation about motorcycles of the future. Each page is illustrated with photographs, most of which have captions and labels. It is written well, both for adults reading to young children, and for children reading to themselves (including late readers). The sentences are short, which will be helpful for inexperienced readers, but the word choice and content never condescend. Large amounts of information are fit on to every two-page spread, but it never feels like the writer is just dumping facts into the book. Parents and teachers of children in the thick of vehicle obsession will appreciate this as a cheat-sheet to the world of driveshafts, mini moto bikes, and rounded tires. Backmatter includes a timeline, glossary, and an index. From the "Mighty Machines" series.

School Library Journal

Gr 3-6

This attractive series delivers a significant amount of material through its writing and graphics. The focus is on how these machines work and what they do, using the features of specific models as examples of the topics discussed. The authors present just enough detail to explain the basic principles of the functioning of these vehicles. Emergency Vehicles and Construction Vehicles present the most unusual topics, such as deep-sea rescue and tunnel-boring machines, while the other four feature more common types. Specifications, odd facts, and trivia are set aside in boxes, while the excellent color photos and outstanding diagrams feature clear, informative captions. An occasional tendency to use cute, slangy terminology, as in the description of an engine's four strokes as "suck, squeeze, bang, and blow," while colorful, is irritating. Overall, though, the topics are sure to be popular, the information is accurate, and it strikes a good balance between entertainment and education.