My Big Machine Book

Children's Literature

This board book is part of the Smithsonian Institution sponsored series which also includes My Train Book and The Airplane Book. This one briefly describes a front-end loader, an excavator, a backhoe loader, a dump truck, a tractor scraper, and a motor grader. Each photograph stretches across both pages, with two large labels on each picture. The tractor scraper, for example, has labels for the scraper bowl and engine. The question and answer format will appeal to some youngsters in the recommended age group, but the series would seem to have limited accessibility for the newborn set. Sturdy and solid, with bright, clear photographs, the series may be popular with pre-school children who cannot get enough information about big machines. Reviewer: Augusta Scattergood