My Little Red Car

A little boy travels around the world, from hot desert sands to the frozen north, with the help of his imagination and a little toy car.

PreSchool-Grade 1-- Demarest creates a pleasant mood by looking at the many places all over the world a young boy will travel in his new toy car. The story is minimal, but the rhythmic text will appeal to children. The watercolor wash illustrations lend themselves to the feel of the fantasy journey. The text and art have a nice interplay and the layout gives a circularity to the boy's path. This is furthered by a satisfying conclusion in which the dreaming boy nestles in bed around his little car. There is no clear representation of global people and cultures; the pictures, while dreamlike, have generic settings--a bridge going over a stream, a mountain, etc. They do nothing to advance the awareness that comes with travel. However, the book will be useful when talking about transportation, and will be a successful read-aloud. --Elizabeth Hanson, Chicago Public Library
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

When a boy receives a sporty toy automobile for his birthday, he envisages setting off on a whirlwind grand tour. The eager dreamer proceeds to spiral up tall mountains . . . and zoom down deep valleys in a flash. Later he stops for lunch in a beautiful old city (Paris) then yields to the lure of the desert and the North Pole. This charmingly skewed vision, grounded in reality but colored by a boyish search for excitement, is illustrated with a warm zippiness. Slapdash watercolors in unusual combinations of muted tones blend in hazy dream locales where the red car always stands out. Landmarks often distinguish one location from another, but the landscape remains one of the imagination; when darkness falls the adventurer heads home to the safety of bed. Action verbs gracefully predominate as the car speeds, weaves and zigzags, complementing the carefree wind in the hair feel to the vigorous art-looser and freer, in fact, than Demarest's previous work. Ages 2-6.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.