With bright, clear art and prose as clean as Sam the narrator's shiny engine, this preschooler-friendly book explores transportation, the parts of a car, signs and signals, night and day, community, and occupations. Bright, graphic artwork invites readers to count, name colors and shapes, and follow Sam and his car as they drive through a bustling world from Sam's home in the country to his job in the city. Named to numerous “best of the year” lists, My Car features vehicles, signs and signals, and a surprise ending. "For young children intrigued by cars, this book is simply wonderful."—ALA Booklist Byron Barton is the celebrated creator of numerous picture books for very young children, including Trucks, My Bus, and Building a House. Join Sam for a day of careful driving, discovery, and one big surprise. Community Helpers: Meet Sam, a friendly driver who shows readers the importance of his job and driving safely from the country to the city. - Parts of a Car: Discover the basic components that make Sam’s car run, from the engine and wheels to the steering wheel and lights. - Road Safety Basics: Learn the importance of obeying traffic laws, reading signs, and stopping for pedestrians in a way that’s easy for toddlers to understand. - Bold, Simple Art: A perfect introduction to the iconic, blocky, and colorful illustration style of celebrated creator Byron Barton. Sam may be a man of few words, but he is certainly eloquent on the subject of his car. With a bright, bold palette of mostly primary colors, author-illustrator Byron Barton ( Trucks , Planes , Machines at Work , etc.) deftly depicts the fondness Sam has for his chunky little car and the care with which he treats it. "I love my car. / I keep my car clean. / My car needs oil / and a full tank of gasoline." Sam also describes the parts of his car, how to drive carefully, and where he likes to go in his car. The story concludes with a twist, sure to delight already rapt readers. Sam and his acquaintances are unusual-looking, blocky figures, with big black blobs for eyes, and more blobs for nose and mouth. Characters and objects are reminiscent of the cars, signs, and figures in a child's play station. Small details are appealing: the mechanic is a woman, and the car's headlights bathe a portion of the text in yellow. This should be required reading for every driver's ed student; we can only hope that the repeated readings this book is bound to receive will sink in to preschoolers' minds for future recall: "I obey the laws. / I stop for pedestrians. / I read the signs." This is a lovely picture book. (Ages 2 to 5) --Emilie Coulter reS-Sam takes good care of his bright red car. He keeps it clean and makes sure that it has oil and gasoline. He also obeys the traffic laws, reads the street signs, drives carefully, and introduces readers to his vehicle's many parts. He drives his car many places, but at work he's behind the wheel of-a big, green bus. Typical of Barton's style, the illustrations are simple and stylized, but perfectly suited to the text. Bold, complementary colors are featured against yellow backgrounds. The book will find a home with youngsters who enjoy books about cars, trains, buses, and the like. Combine it with Donald Crews's Freight Train (Greenwillow, 1978) to get a toddler or preschool storytime rolling. Roxanne Burg, Thousand Oaks Library, CA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc. *Starred Review* Ages 2-4. This is a simple picture book, simple in the best sense. Each illustration is distilled to the essence of its graphic forms. Boldly shaped blocks of brilliant colors combine to make recognizable figures and objects, which in turn create dynamic scenes that illustrate the first-person narrative. The story is simple too, short enough to engage a toddler, yet with a nice twist at the end. The narrator introduces his car and its many useful features and he demonstrates how carefully he drives--stopping for pedestrians, reading signs. The twist comes when he explains that he drives his car to work where he boards a bus: he's the driver. Those who equate simple with easy or dull will be delighted with the colors, shapes, and composition that Barton manipulates so playfully and so precisely. Sometimes electric combinations of colors set up visual effects that keep the eyes in motion over the double-page spreads. In more peaceful pictures, perfectly placed elements of the design create pleasing effects reminiscent of a collage by Matisse. For young children intrigued by cars, this book is simply wonderful. Carolyn Phelan Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved “Vehicle-obsessed toddlers will line up for a ride.” - The Horn Book “Will survive countless readings.” - Publishers Weekly “Simply wonderful.” - ALA Booklist My car has wheels. My car has gas. The horn goes beep. Come take a ride. --ALA Booklist My car has wheels. My car has gas. The horn goes beep. Come take a ride. Byron Barton