Teddies and Trucks

What better way to tempt toddlers than to spotlight two of their fascinations (heavy equipment and teddy bears) in a board book series? So seems the logic behind these volumes, which feature photographs of miniature teddies and tiny replicas of machinery. Unfortunately, the project falls flat. Showing toy versions of larger-than-life vehicles will most likely be a visual let-down for youngsters at the upper end of the intended age range, by now used to seeing garbage trucks, fire engines, cement mixers and the like in action. With the one-word-per-page (or spread) approach to text, however, the books do provide a solid vocabulary lesson and a basic introduction to the types of big machines found at construction sites or on the road. Ages 9 mos.-3 yrs. (Feb.)