Beep Beep, and: Choo Choo (review)

Get out of town! Or, if that's too much trouble, do it literarily with these two sturdy board books suited for youthful adventurers. In Beep Beep, the family's hitting the road for Grandma's house, while in Choo Choo, a group of kids head to the beach via an old-fashioned steam engine. Each spread offers a spot of simple, sound-effecty text ("Vroom, vroom, along the highway") as the trip progresses, and little grabbing hands will reach immediately to feel the contoured edges of pages that delineate distant mountains or car silhouettes. Each title also has a special die-cut effect on a page or two: Beep Beep's muntined windows are tactilely intriguing but not much more, whereas Choo Choo's train-tunnel entrance and exit, leading into and out of a darkened spread, are genuinely entertaining additions. A note indicates the art is created with acrylic collage, though there seem to be some painterly and penciled effects as well, and the resultant cornucopia of vivid and attractively textured color will be eye-appealing to little ones. Even the littlest of listeners will relish the opportunities to honk, chuff, and follow the journey, and adults will enjoy the pleasures of travel unpunctuated by "Are we there yet?"