Car, car, truck, jeep by Katrina Charman

cover image

Ill. by Nick Sharratt. Bloomsbury, 2018. ISBN 9781408864968
(Age: 3-5) Recommended. Themes: Cars. Rhyming story. Sing along. Read aloud, Nursery rhyme. Machines. Sung to the tune of 'Baa baa black sheep', this funny story will delight its younger readers, listeners and singers. In bright primary colours every possible form of wheeled transport is shown and included in the rhyming couplets, starting with
"Car, car, truck, jeep
Have you any fuel?
Yes sir, yes sir,
Three tanks full"
children will quickly learn the rhyming sequence and participate in the sing along, predicting the rhyming words at the end of each pair of lines. There is a tank full for the red bus, one for the train and one for the jet plane. From there, mum and the kids go down the lane past the tractor, then see a motorbike weaving its way amongst the traffic, they pass another train, see a hovercraft, then a helicopter, a truck, a yellow taxi, a dumper truck, police car and ambulance, until finally they are amongst a lot of traffic all headed home, tired out by the day's work.
Each page will have children hunting out the things described in the verse, commenting on what each does or sounds like, participating in the rhyming lines and making appropriate sounds. A whole heap of fun for younger readers and teachers alike, along the way discussing with them what they can expect to see on the road and how useful each of these machines is to our lives.
This may even lead to discussions about road rules and safety on the road and in these machines.
Fran Knight

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