Machines Go to Work by William Low (Holt, $14.95, 9780805087598/0805087591, 42 pp., ages 2-6, May 2009)
Low (Old Penn Station) here presents a vehicle-loving child's dream: one by one, the narrative introduces a backhoe, firetruck, helicopter, cement mixer, tugboat (pulling a container ship down a river) and freight train. The six machines (each with a tantalizing sound effect) work together to a common purpose--to keep a community running smoothly. Each machine features in a brief (two-spread) vignette with a foldout page that reveals a surprise. "Gzzzzzzzzzk!" the backhoe begins, as it makes its way down a horizontal expanse of thick green grass; a small group of red and yellow tulips appear at the lower right-hand corner. In the next spread, the perspective shifts, and the backhoe seems to be coming right toward readers, surrounded by lush green trees and the tulips in the foreground, with the slightest suggestion of pink blossoms in the upper right corner: "Is the backhoe digging up the flowers?" The foldout page, which extends to the right, answers the question: "No, it's digging a hole for new crab-apple trees. The flowers are safe." Those subtle pink blossoms from the previous spread turn out to be the crab-apple blossoms on the trees to be planted. A fire engine ("Wwaaaaawwwwwwwwrrrr!") pulls up beneath a cluster of cherry blossom trees ("Is there a fire . . . ?" poses the text), and the foldout page reveals a kitten stuck in their upper branches. Fans of Make Way for Ducklings will appreciate the surprise twist that called a helicopter to the scene of a traffic jam, and children also witness a tension-filled moment before the drawbridge lifts to allow the tugboat and its container ship to pass. The pièce de résistance is an expansive double-foldout spread of a freight train's route, which offers readers a bird's-eye view of the entire town and all of the previous vehicles' part in its continued success. Endnotes offer curious readers additional information about each of the vehicles presented (with a bonus explanation of the container ship and also the railroad crossing sign), including detailed labels. Low created the artwork, with its appearance of thickly applied oil paint, with computer programs that literally simulate the act of brushing on paint. You can see a demonstration of how he works here. Part vehicle book, part mystery, this tale stresses the importance of the many collaborative efforts that make our neighborhoods work.--Jennifer M. Brown
