Review: Dazzling Diggers

Dazzling Diggers

Written by Tony Mitton

Illustrated by Ant Parker

Publication Date:1997
Publisher: Kingfisher
ISBN: 978-0-7534-5304-9

Summary/back cover:
“Diggers are noisy,
strong, and big.
Diggers can carry
and push and dig.”

Be dazzled by the diggers and their daffy animal drivers in this bright and bouncy picture book. Zippy wordplay, zappy art, plus a helpful picture dictionary make learning about machines fun!

Review:
Here is yet another book from the Amazing Machines series. I don’t know how the author and illustrator managed to make a whole book about diggers and write about them so that pre-schoolers can understand, but they succeeded! My children now know that diggers can have wheels or tracks and be driven with levers or steering wheels.

Like the other Amazing Machines books we have at our house, Dazzling Diggers is a favourite of my children. If your children love big machines, they’ll no doubt love this book, too.

My rating: 4.5 out of 5

Review written by team_s

Review: Flashing Fire Engines

Flashing Fire Engines

Written by Tony Mitton

Illustrated by Ant Parker

Publication Date:1998
Publisher: Kingfisher
ISBN: 978-0-7534-5307-0

Summary/back cover:
“Big, bold fire engines,
waiting day and night,
ready for a rescue
or a blazing fire to fight.”

Jump on the fire engine with a trio of brave animal firefighters in this exciting picture book. Zippy wordplay, zappy art, plus a helpful picture dictionary make learning about fire engines fun!

Review:
From the Amazing Machines series comes Flashing Fire Engines. My pre-schoolers are crazy about fire-trucks and absolutely LOVE this book. They soon learnt all about the helmets and masks the firefighters wear from the dictionary in the back and love to point them out as we’re reading. I even learnt a few things, myself, like how the firefighters get water out of a fire hydrant, and why they even need fire hydrants when there is water stored on the truck.

This is a great wee book that’ll be a hit with any kid who is interested in fire-trucks.

My rating: 4.5 out of 5

Review written by team_s

Review: Cool Cars

Cool Cars

Written by Tony Mitton

Illustrated by Ant Parker

Publication Date: 2005
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Books
ISBN: 978-0-330-52008-9

Summary/back cover:
“Cars are really handy
for getting us around.
They whizz about on busy roads
and make a zoomy sound.”

Cruise down the street with some dotty animal drivers in this cheerful picture book. Zippy wordplay, zappy art, plus a picture dictionary make learning about cars fun!

Review:
This is another book in the Amazing Machines series, others of which have already been reviewed on this site. This story introduces children to different sorts of cars, including taxis and race-cars. It also briefly covers road signs, and car maintenance.

For children who are a little bit young for non-fiction books, or who prefer a more sing-song approach to learning, the Amazing Machines books are a fantastic introduction to cars, trains and the like. We have four Amazing Machines books in our household and they are without a doubt the stories my two year old boys most enjoy looking at and request to be read to them.

My rating: 4.5 out of 5

Review written by team_s

Review: Tremendous Tractors

Tremendous Tractors

Written by Tony Mitton

Illustrated by Ant Parker

Publication date: 2003
Publisher: Kingfisher
ISBN: 0-7534-0831-7

Summary/Back cover:
Tremendous, chuggy tractors,
so sturdy and so strong,
connecting up to farm machines
and pulling them along.
Climb aboard a tractor with a trio of friendly farmers in this playful picture book.  Zippy wordplay, zappy art, plus a picture dictionary make learning about tractors fun!

Review:
Another book from the Amazing Machines collection (see other reviews here, here and here), and as much loved by my 2.5 year old as Terrific Trains.  The rhyming in the book is made to sound like a tractor chugging along, which makes it as much fun for the adults to read, as it is for the kids to listen to!

This book, along with all the other ones in this collection, is great for Mums of little boys, as it teaches us about the different parts and uses of tractors, so that we can actually sound all knowledgeable when we get the inevitable questions like "What's that tractor pulling?" "How does that machine work?" etc. that inquisitive boys are known for!

Definitely a winner here - I rate this book 4.5 out of 5.

Review written by Bronwyn

Review: Tough Trucks

Tough Trucks

Written by Tony Mitton

Illustrated by Ant Parker

Publication date: 2003
Publisher: Kingfisher Publications
ISBN: 0-7534-0834-1

Summary/Back cover:
Trucks are tough and sturdy.
They take on heavy loads,
then thunder on their giant tyres
down long and busy roads.

Rumble down the road with a team of chirpy animal truckers in this lively picture book.  Zippy wordplay, zappy art, plus a picture dictionary make learning about trucks fun!

Review:
Another book from the Amazing Machines collection (of which I'm keen to collect the whole lot!) - Tough Trucks has been well received by my 2.5 year old.  I would have to say that, although very well written and beautifully illustrated, it doesn't seem to hit the mark quite as well as Terrific Trains, but I can't quite put my finger on a specific complaint - maybe it's just that my son is far more into trains than he is trucks at the moment!

As with other books by Tony Mitton, the rhyming is fantastic to read aloud to children, so it's the sort of book that I don't mind reading many times to a small machine-enthusiast!

My rating: 4.3 out of 5 - a definite boys' book, and perfect for your little trucker!

Review written by Bronwyn

Review: Amazing Aeroplanes

Amazing Aeroplanes

Written by Tony Mitton

Illustrated by Ant Parker

Publication Date: 2002

Publisher: Kingfisher

ISBN: 978-0-7534-1488-0

Summary/back cover:

An aeroplane’s amazing, for it travels through the sky, above the clouds, for miles and miles, so very fast and high!

Jet above the clouds in this picture book with playful art, a kooky animal crew and a brilliant picture dictionary. The story CD lets children follow along with the jolly rhyming text, with music and fun sound effects to accompany the reading. It’s the perfect way to learn about aeroplanes – at bedtime, on car journeys, or anytime at all!

This book is from the Amazing Machines series. As the mother of two boys I’m likely to end up with the entire set. It is worth checking out Bronwyn’s review of Terrific Trains, from the same series.

I purchased this book to prepare my little ones before I took them on their first plane ride. I would absolutely recommend it for this purpose.

It’s not really a story, but more of a rhyming description of each stage in a plane journey. It covers checking in the bags at the terminal, the pilots preparing for take-off, the cabin crew serving drinks and the aeroplane landing at the destination, amongst other things. At the end of the book is a sort of picture glossary of the parts of the aeroplane and the airport. My children aren’t even two, yet, but can now identify control towers!

This edition also comes with a CD. The CD isn’t essential, but it does include a copy of the story with aeroplane noises on it, which I rate as rather cool.

My rating:  4 out of 5

Review written by team_s

Review: Terrific Trains

Terrific Trains

Written by Tony Mitton

Illustrations by Ant Parker

Publication Date: 1998
Publisher: Kingfisher
ISBN: 978-0-7534-1524-5

Summary/Back cover:
"Big trains, small trains, old trains and new, rattling and whistling - choo, choo, choo!"
Clickety clack down the track in this picture book with playful art, animal passengers and a brilliant picture dictionary. The enclosed CD lets children follow along with the jolly rhyming text, with music and fun sound effects to accompany the reading. It's the perfect way to learn about trains - at bedtime, on car journeys, or anytime at all!

My 2 year old is train-mad. We live near the railway line, so he is constantly watching trains, often goes on a ride with one with his Dad in the weekends, and will point out any train that he sees while we're in the car. So it only made sense to buy this book when I saw it on the sale table down at the mall one day!

This is a rhyming book, and it's written in such a way that the rhythm of the words sounds like the wheels of a train on the tracks. Beautifully illustrated and very well written, this is a book that any young boy will enjoy, and many girls as well, I'm sure!

There are a lot of other books in this series that I'm keen to get as well:

• Amazing Aeroplanes
• Brilliant Boats
• Cool Cars
• Dazzling Diggers
• Flashing Fire Engines
• Roaring Rockets
• Super Submarines
• Tough Trucks
• Tremendous Tractors

... does that sound like a 2 year old boy's dream library or what?!

My rating: 4.5 out of 5 - the only trouble with it is that it's a short story, so I'm made to read it 3 or 4 times before a certain toddler is satisfied!

Review written by Bronwyn