Friday 17 March 2017

ReadItDaddy's Second Picture Book of the Week - Week Ending 17th March 2017 - "William Bee's Wonderful World of Trucks" by (who else!) William Bee (Pavilion Children's Books)


Our Book of the Week slot is PACKED this week, I know! But we make no apologies for squeezing this one in...
William Bee's illustrations just blow us both away. Sharp, brilliantly referenced (as you'll see within the body of this review) but above all inviting us into the world of a fellah who really loves and knows his subject.

We love William's other books, particularly his Migloo series - but we always look out for the vehicles he squeezes in to each story.

So having a book that focuses entirely on a fabulous collection of a particular type of vehicle is an absolute win for both of us. Charlotte loves cars and trucks (in fact I'm pretty sure she'd have a huge collection of them if she was allowed, but alas my wife draws the line at filling the house with 'em) and I always loved them as a kid - possessing an unspeakably large collection of matchbox cars and vehicles (and quite a few Corgi and Hot Wheels cars too).

I sort of imagine that's how William got started out, and in this book he's celebrating the work horse of the vehicle world, the truck.

William's amazing garage plays host to his huge collection of trucks and cars. Wouldn't you love a garage like this?
William takes us on a whistle-stop tour around his collection. Big trucks for hauling, little trucks for moving, and purpose built vehicles to perform specific jobs.

Probably our favourite panel, the brilliant snack truck. We'll have a Double Slug and Cheese ta! (Love this one, looks a bit like an old Bedford Truck with the teapot spout headlights)



The illustrations just draw you in. So many tiny little details and tons of humour (the snack van is hilarious!)


A big builder's haulage truck. Looks very much like an early Foden, this one.


There's even a super-powerful racing truck with a jet engine, that can fly along the track at 370 MPH! Yikes! Certainly faster than most things on the road. 

We both loved this book a lot, me for the sheer nostalgia of remembering how obsessive about vehicles I was (and still am). Charlotte because she's a chip off the old block, and I could see her being a serious petrol-head when she's older. 

Utterly fab, and a worthy book of the week

Charlotte's favourite truck: The superfast jet-powered truck. Speed over functionality every time, that girl!

Daddy's favourite truck: Has to be the car transporter - I always loved my Dinky Toy one. 

(Kindly supplied for review)

"William Bee's Wonderful World of Trucks" by William Bee is out now, published by Pavilion