Customer Reviews

Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things That Go (Richard Scarry)

I grew up with this book as my favorite and it got a lot of use in my readings. After lots of scotch tape repairs, the books binding finally fell apart and my mom had to buy another one for me.

Now I have my own child and even though he is a 16 month old and doesn't fully appreciate everything it has to offer, he loves the variety of pictures and the large pages that he can turn. And as he learns the names of more things, he has more to point to in the book.

The main upside of the book is that there is a lot to look at on every page. Not just vehicles, but scenery and action make each turn of the page a new adventure. While there is a story that goes on through the entire book, you can get lots of enjoyment just by flipping through it and this makes it worthwhile for younger children who don't have the longest of attention spans. The pictures are clear and bright and help with building vocabulary and recognition.

Before "Where's Waldo," there was Goldbug. After a while, children will know exactly where he is on each page but having to hunt for him the first several times through adds something else to the charm of Richard Scarry.

The downsides are small and not worth worrying about. The pages are big but that means they are easily ripped. Just keep the tape handy. Also, pagewise, it is a long book for that age and parents can grow tired of reading it. But the actual amount of words is small. Most of the time is taken by looking at everything and searching for Goldbug. And most kids seem to enjoy looking through the book by themselves.

And I can't complain at all if a book keeps kids interested in reading. And I expect to buy another copy someday.

This book was my favorite book when I was a little kid. That is part of the reason I gave it five stars. It is not only a fun book to read but it is also fun to look for this little yellow creature on each page. There is an Officer Flossy who rides on a bike and chases a terrible driver in a sports car throughout the entire book, while the Pig family goes on a picnic to the beach. The pictures of all the different types of vehicles are very interesting and fun to look at.

I AM SO SICK OF THIS BOOK! Both of my sons, ages 2 & 4 are obsessed with this book and I have to read it at least once per day. They can also look at it without me as the many cute, silly pictures speak for themselves. It's an adorable book.

My kids are hooked on these books. Richard Scarry comes up with an amusing collection of cars and trucks that take on anthropomorphic proportions. He leads the reader along with various devices such as "spotting the bug." The book has been translated into many languages, including Lithuanian, making it one of the most widely read children's books in circulation. Best to buy the hardback as it will get plenty of use.

This book is so much more than a vocabulary builder! There are dozens of modes of transportation (from motor-scrapers to locomotives to doughnut cars), real and imagined, represented in the humorous illustrations. The settings take children through various seasons and parts of a community (a farm, a Main street, a campground, a beach, etc.). The questions from your child will be endless...How is a road made? What are the firefighters doing? Has Officer Flossy found Dingo Dog yet, so she can give him a ticket? And where, oh where is that Goldbug hiding? Inside the limousine? Behind the ambulance? Inside the broken-down car that is being towed by a small tow truck, which is being towed by a larger tow truck? This is so much more than just an entertaining story to be read, but an opportunity to ask and answer questions together, to find something new each time you read together, and to explore an imagined version of the world around us. My 3 1/2 year old son has loved this book for two years and hasn't stopped requesting it, even though we own many many quality books. Okay, maybe it helps that he is obsessed with cars, trucks, and things that go to begin with. Well done, Richard Scarry!

My husband and I are both teachers. Of all the books that we bought and read to our two sons (now ages 18 and 21), this is the only one they insisted we read again and again (every night for months for each of them). We even made up a Goldbug song to accompany the search each time.

This is a great book for kids. It was my son's favourite and I bought it for his child. It is a book that a child can spend hours with, however the paper and the binding of the book are quite inferior and low quality. It certainly does not have the sturdiness of the older books. Content is great though.

I loved Richard Scarry books when I was an older sister looking for library books for my younger siblings--the stories and recurring characters were fun, but the most fun was looking for the little jokes scattered throughout the book...the appearances of Lowly Worm or Bugdozer in the margins of pictures, the mix of fanciful (the alligator mobile) with the mundane cars on the same street. It's a book that can be read aloud for the main story, or provide hours of fun looking at the pictures for all the details. I got this particular Richard Scarry book for my 2 year old nephew as he is a big fan of all "things taht go" and my sister told me that it was an extra big hit, since he had previously had a copy of the book that was destroyed in an unfortunate book tearing incident, and he was overjoyed to have a new copy!

When I was a little kid, this was my favorite book. Between myself and my brother, we read our first copy so much we wore it out and had to buy another one. If I ever have a son, this is the first book I'll buy him (and a daughter will probably like it too!).

This was my husband's favorite book from his childhood; since his copy was very worn, I bought a new copy for him to share with our son.

My son loves the book--he reaches for it and picks it up, and when we're reading to him he grabs for all the pictures; he's very interested!

I've never been the world's biggest Richard Scarry fan, but this book is way better than I thought it would be, too--it's so funny. I love the frightened parking meter and other funny details, and finding Goldbug on each set of pages can be quite challenging.

Cars and Trucks and Things That Go is an entertaining book that can hold the whole family's attention!