Tremendous Tractors

Fun animal farmers show readers how their crops are planted and harvested using tractors, trailers, plows, and other farm machines.

Fun animal farmers show readers how their crops are planted and harvested using tractors, trailers, plows, and other farm machines.

Kathleen Karr - Children's Literature

The "Amazing Machines" collection for tots covers vehicles that roar and grunt, fly and sail, or merely shove and carry. Done up in tidy verse with characters that borrow quite a bit from Richard Scarry, the page-turners are colorfully illustrated and sport reinforced binding with a fair amount of wear in it. Rabbit, Bird, and Mouse strut their stuff on the farm using the plow, the harrow, the roller, the seed drill, the mower, and the bailer. For grain crops they demonstrate a combine. Then there is the fun of hauling the harvest to market. A one-page picture dictionary completes the package. The set should be just the ticket for the nursery school market. 2003, Kingfisher, Ages 3 to 5.

Tony Mitton is a widely anthologized children's poet, as well as a teacher and performing poet. His Royal Raps won the 1997 Nottinghamshire Libraries/Dillons Children's Book Award. His recent collection of poetry, Plum, won the Publishers Weekly 2003 Cuffies Award for Best Book of Poetry. Tony teamed with illustrator Ant Parker on several books, including Dazzling Diggers, Roaring Rockets, and Terrific Trains. Ant Parker studied drawing and printing at the Bath Academy of Art in England and has taught papermaking, printing and bookbinding workshops for children.