These 23 poems, sung to twangy guitars and soft drumbeats on an enclosed CD, celebrate modes of transportation from ice-cream trucks to "Grandpa's Motorized Wheelchair." "I love cars and I love trains,/ buses, trucks, and big jet planes,/ ships that sail and boats that row,/ I love things that go!" declares the all-inclusive first rhyme. "A Bicycle Built for Two" frames the familiar proposal ("Daisy, Daisy,/ give me your answer do…") in a story of would-be groom "Milton the mouse"; "Police Car" pictures cat cops in pursuit of a feline fish thief. Other selections, like "Skateboard Dream," concern children's everyday lives. The narrator of "My Old Man Drives a Minivan" notices classmates' brand-name cars, then decides, "The most expensive sports car is just a hunk of steel./ It's not the car you drive that counts, it's who's behind the wheel!" To illustrate such eclectic rhymes, Kirk (Snow Family) uses a range of styles, from ultra-smooth oil paintings to less fussy pastels, collages and clay sculptures. His multimedia experiments extend to sound, as he sings and plays guitar with musician friends on the folksy CD. Although he sacrifices refinement for dizzy variety in his illustrations, Kirk keeps the volume motoring along with his consistent theme. All ages. (Sept.)
