Jean Coppendale

I noticed in Firefly Books' latest catalog a notice that they were reprinting this series and thought it looked worth reviewing. I borrowed an older copy from another library and this was a definite find.

The Great Big Book of Mighty Machines is actually a collection of several individual books, like the Tractors book pictured below. It is over 100 pages and includes Bikes, Cars, Trains, Tractors, Fire Trucks, Dump Trucks and Monster Trucks. Each individual book in the collection has a border show more of a different color, which can then be matched to the glossaries in the back. The index covers the entire book.

Each book opens with a simple explanation of the vehicle and how it works, then moves on to different types of vehicles and how they are used. There are additional facts scattered throughout the books and each volume ends with simple activities, mostly identifying pictures and writing prompts.

The writing...these are the machine books I have been looking for my whole life. I am swoony over their tractor descriptions. Seriously. The language is simple enough to read aloud in storytime or to a small machine-obsessed child, but it includes a lot of facts and information. Interesting enough and well-written enough that it's not a bore to read, but using simple vocabulary that beginning readers could tackle with a little help. These books are amazing.

Verdict: Several of the individual titles are still in print and I am planning to purchase both the collected volume and the individual books. I heartily recommend you do the same. It's going to be a happy day when I weed our outdated machine books and replace them with these marvelous volumes.

ISBN: 9781554075218; Published 2009 by Firefly books; Borrowed from another library in my consortium; Purchased for the library show less

This book talks about different emergency vehicles and their functions. Some of the vehicles they discuss are firetrucks, ambulances, polices, motorcycle patrol and harbor firefighters. The book has great pictures to demonstrate their uses to children. The back of the book has a glossary for children to use.

I thought the book was interesting. When I was younger, I used to love when it was fire safety week and we got to get inside a firetruck and explore it. I think this book has a lot of show more good information on several different emergency/rescue vehicles.

In the classroom, I would have firemen come to the school or we would take a field trip to the fire station and let the students explore the truck and all it's functions. This would be a good time to let the children ask the firemen questions. Also, I would have them draw a picture of their favorite emergency vehicle and then write a story that involve that vehicle going out and rescuing someone. show less

A good introduction to medieval times and life in a castle, for ages 5 to 8. There are some flaps to lift, and large panels to slide open, showing life inside a castle. The illustrations are cartoon-style and funny, though the facts are serious. Captions are brief, for adults to read or older children to decipher alone. There are questions to encourage exploration, finding people in each scene.
The pull-out pages are stiff, and can be difficult to slide back into place without adult show more help.
Targetted at boys, but interesting for girls too. Good for pre-readers and early readers from age 5 to 8. show less

This book is very informative on many different types of farm equipment. It tells about the different equipment and what they can be used for. This book also has a fun font and it bold types important words. In the back of the book it has a glossary and also an activity page that introduces fun activities that children can do to learn about farming and the equipment farmers use.

i love this book because we have a farm! I'm so glad that there is children's lit to introduce to children and show more help them see how the world is fed!

Extension:
I would have my students write a story about a runaway tractor. Who will be in the story? What happens at the end? Draw a picture to go with the story.

i would ask my students if they would like to be farmers. Would it be fun? Would it be hard work? Then i would have them draw a picture of themselves working hard as farmers. show less