This landscape book on, essentially, the history of cars, opens in the Industrial Revolution of the 1700s, with the rise (and rise!) of the machine--the precursor of the modern day car engine.
Pages are not only dotted with pockets of fascinating (but nicely succinct) information, we are also treated to a catalogue of push, pull and pop up action, with pull tabs that drag along the Benz Velo (1898), complete with spoked wheels, to a miniator pop-open booklet on the great car inventors, including Karl Benz, Gottlieb Daimler and Henry Ford.
Subsequent double page spreads including supercars, everyday cars, record-breaking cars, and cars of the future such as the OneCAT which is currently being trialed and will run on compressed air (making it the greenest car around).
And of course, how could a book like this end iwthout a final spread on ravcing cars.
While the information contained in this book is of a rather sophisticated (but accessible) nature, children as young as 4 or 5 will immensely enjoy interacting with its moveable parts and admiring the beautiful illustrations. For all its 'children's picture book'ness, this is a book that will be adored by both grandad and grandson. And maybe even a granddaughter.
Title: Cars: A Pop-Up Book of Automobiles
Author/Illustrator: Robert Crowther
Publisher: Walker Books, $29.95 RRP
Publication Date: 1 October 2009
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 9781406312270
For ages: 6 - 72
Type: Pop-Up, Picture Book
