Day 150: If I Built a Car

This fabulous book came in my son's Easter basket this past weekend and I think it's safe to say it has already become a family favorite.  We first discovered Chris Van Dusen when we picked up The Circus Ship at our local library a while back, and have loved every book of his we've read since.  If you haven't heard of Chris Van Dusen or read any of his books, you should!  I feel like he is one of those authors who doesn't have nearly the fame and huge fan base he deserves, though hopefully I'm wrong.  His rhymes are clever, fun, and downright impeccable -- right up there with Dr. Seuss and Bill Peet, in my opinion.  In fact, I just noticed that If I Built a Car won the E.B. White Read Aloud Award in 2006.  Most well-deserved!  This book is so much fun to read aloud, and the pictures make it even more fun to look at as you listen.  His illustrations are brilliant, with bright, bold colors that jump out of the page and a unique retro style that I just love.

Most of all, though, I love the way this book highlights the wonderful creativity and imagination of childhood.  Drawing inspiration from zeppelins, trains, jet engines, and even the Weinermobile, our young narrator's car is fantastically awesome in every way.  Complete with old Cadillac-style fins, a pool, snack bar, fireplace, couch robot auto-pilot and more, this car can do it all:  become a boat, cruise underwater like a submarine, even blast off and fly in the sky!  "My car will be cool!  My car will be keen!  My car will be one big fantastic machine!  The toast of the town! The cream of the crop! The belle of the ball and the tip of the top!  My car will be famous from here to Peru... If I built a car, that's just what I'd do."  Be sure to check out Jack's drawings and plans inside the front and back covers of the book.  I love Van Dusen's dedication, too.  (I guess we just love this book from cover to cover!)  Cuddle up and read this fabulous story with your child and then let your own imaginations run wild.  What kind of car would you build?

Day 8: Cars and Trucks and Things That Go

This might be my son's favorite book of all time.  He has loved it so much, in fact, that we are actually on our second copy.  The first one was given to us as a hand-me-down and was in near-perfect condition, but the poor book was soon loved to shreds.  Literally.  Even mass amounts of heavy duty clear packing tape couldn't save it.  Granted, we probably shouldn't have given my son a non-board book when he was still only one, but he was so obsessed with cars and trucks that we couldn't resist reading it to him.  Needless to say, it was an instant hit.   It features drawings of every kind of vehicle you could possibly imagine and then some (would you rather drive a carrot car or a banana mobile?) and a rather silly story line about the Pig family's day trip to the beach.  It's long -- almost 70 pages -- but jam-packed with vehicular delight.  We love following that naughty Dingo Dog, too.  If you have a child in your life who is like mine and is obsessed with all things wheeled, this is bound to be a favorite.  Don't forget to find Goldbug on every page!