Bumper to Bumper: A Traffic Jam

The uncharacteristically cheerful gridlock is backed up as far as the title page in Wood's (Animal Hullabaloo) vehicle-oriented volume, beginning an idle parade of cars, trucks, bikes, buses and other wheeled contraptions. What's holding things up? Readers won't find out they following the endless line of traffic, car by car, page by page, to the last spread. No two vehicles are alike, and each is clearly labeled: a hatchback follows a cement mixer, which comes awfully close to a helmeted cyclist, who's stopped behind a delivery van, which follows a trailer hitched to the back of a four-wheel-drive car, and on and on. Drivers talk on cellular phones, water their dogs, whistle along to their car radios, wash their windshields, blow bubbles and doze. Except for some pesky seagulls, and an unfortunate but harmless fender-bender, these merry motorists find little reason to grimace or pout. Kids will enjoy examining all the details and the occupants of each conveyance, learning to differentiate between the various types of vehicles in the process. Ages 1-5. (May)