(3) K-3 A little monkey escapes from the family motorcycle's banana-shaped sidecar and hops aboard a fire truck, a street sweeper, and other vehicles driven and occupied by animals. Finally, parent and child make it to the monkey homestead, which, naturally, has wheels. This giddy-making romp is wordless but for the occasional identifier printed on the side of a vehicle (e.g., "Octobus").

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) PS Translated by James Brown. Pig mechanic Gus spends the day solving various animal friends' car troubles: e.g., when rhino Rico complains that he's "overflowing" on his motor scooter's tiny seat, Gus rigs it with an armchair. The rhymes are toe-tappers, and readers will delight in determining which item from Gus's hodgepodge junk pile (a painstakingly rendered heap by Timmers) will do the job.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Translated by Bill Nagelkerke. Young Sam believes that robots live "on a faraway planet"; frustrated that no one buys this, he secretly builds a robot, Franky, "who understands me." When a spaceship arrives to claim Franky, Sam's family finally realizes that he's right. This satisfying addition to the kid-knows-more-than-grownups picture-book genre has quirky, inspired visuals: e.g., Franky's dialogue balloons contain not words but molecule-reminiscent shapes.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) K-3 Facing pages show one animal-driven vehicle on the verge of colliding with another. An illustration following the inevitable "bang" (the text's only word, save a single "eeeeeeeeeeeeee") reveals the unique result of each (gentle) crash: e.g., truck tires end up around the neck of a giraffe driving a sports car. The surprise-strewn art culminates in a glorious collision with--what else?--a paint truck.

Reviewer: Nell Beram

(3) PS On each left-hand page, four different animals stride toward a vehicle on the right while the text asks "Who is driving the fire engine?...fancy car?" etc. Kids will enjoy using the picture clues in the clean, bright acrylic illustrations to guess, and they are rewarded by a colorful spread featuring the driver in action, complete with sound effects.

Reviewer: Susan Halperin