Everything Goes: On Land

Brian Biggs. HarperCollins/Balzer + Bray, $14.99 (56p) ISBN 978-0-06-195809-0

Illustrator Biggs's first solo outing launches a transportation-based series with a cartooned survey of vehicles that populate the roads and rails. Using the framing device of Henry and his father driving to pick up Henry's mother at the train station, Biggs (the Brownie & Pearl series) creates a series of bustling landscapes full of vehicles, real and whimsical, which provide conversation fodder for father and son. Every few pages, Henry's questions prompt Biggs to break from the journey and zero in on a specific vehicle's components and capabilities, providing just enough detail to satisfy budding gearheads ("When you turn the key in the ignition, the battery sends a jolt of electricity to the motor that starts the car"). While it's too early to declare Biggs the next Richard Scarry or Martin Handford, this series has plenty of potential: Biggs has a cheery cartooning style that's reminiscent of R. Crumb and ideal for populating his oversized pages with a multitude of players and detail. With running visual jokes and mini-narratives adding to the fun, Biggs gives readers lots to take in and enjoy. Ages 4–8. (Sept.)

Reviewed on: 08/01/2011

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Other - 978-0-06-208394-4