Big Machines - Hardcover

ANGELA ROYSTON has written lots of science books for children, including several series on the human body, health, animals, ecology and space. She grew up in Scotland and now lives in London. Angela enjoys travelling, walking, reading and spending time with her family.Terry Pastor has worked as an illustrator and painter for many years, and is interested in vehicles of all kinds. He lives in Swanton Morley, Norfolk.

Ages 3-8. Here's a colorful introduction to nine machines common to city streets, construction sites, and farms--among them, the combine harvester, backhoe, street cleaner, and concrete mixer. Each vehicle commands a double-page spread, with Pastor's airbrush illustrations presenting a clear, powerful outline of the machine that looks almost photographic. Brief text, in large type, describes the machinery's function and operation. The same large type is used in labeling machine features in the illustrations. Royston does not provide any unifying introduction or make any overall connection between the vehicles, and many of the machines, which are depicted as actively engaged in work, are drawn without drivers or are pictured with operators whose faces point downward, as if nearly in sleep. Despite these flaws, this attractive volume will be popular with fans of the Rockwells' Machines (1972) or Gail Gibbons' Trucks (1981) or where there is an insatiable demand for picture books on the subject. Karen Harvey