Sturdy pop-up books that won't come apart at the touch of a very young hand seem to be in short supply, which is one reason why I was so taken with this bright, fun book by Steve Augarde.

A Brit who is an animator for the BBC series Bump, Augarde has illustrated "Garage" in bold, cheerful colors and offered a realistic size (10" by 7") for 3 - 7 year-olds. Youngsters can play pretend by turning the pages and putting a car on a hydraulic lift, balancing the tires, fixing a leaky engine, and generally making a car or truck road worthy again.

This is an interactive book that not only turns wheels but also young minds as they follow the activity in a busy garage.

- Gail Cooke

This book is well suited for children as well as childcare providers. The main theme of the book is displayed as big pictures for children to view. The actions are also given as guidelines for elder children to figure out and play. It encourages music and movement in children of all ages. The elephant on the rope is illustrated very well.

Humpty Dumpty is a beautiful pop-up book to help teach and enjoy this Nursery Rhyme. The illustrations are bright and colorful, and the pop-ups are big and sturdy. The book is creative without going too far from the original Mother Goose version of the story. In short, this book makes Humpty Dumpty into a very cute egg.

Little Red Car Gets into Trouble was the perfect first pop-up book for our 18-month old son. It's sturdily contructed, with pull-tabs that are easy for a first-timer to manipulate. We've found that the pull-tabs for most pop-up books may seem simple for us, but often require actions that are confusing or difficult for a very young toddler (pushing tabs left to right and back is suprisingly difficult for young toddlers who don't have good three dimensional hand control yet). In Little Red Car, all actions are so simple and well-marked that our son could do them on his own after the first try. Plus, it has a dump truck, a loader, and a stop light.

A fun, transportation oriented pop up book, like the Ken Wilson Max transporation series, but simpler, and so slightly more durable. This book and one other of the Little Red Car series kept my two year old fascinated during a difficult airplane ride and dinner out with his grandparents. He particularly loved the page where the little red car sleds down the side of the hill.

I highly recommend it!

My daughter loves this book & has been asking to have it read a dozen times a day since she got it last week. The storyline is simple & clear--maybe too simple for 4-8-year-olds; my daughter's only 2 & she understands what's going on & will tell us what's happening next if we ask her. What really makes the book, in my opinion, are the illustrations. The dog & cat are both adorable & lifelike & the colors are bright without being garish. The cover of the book is attractive too, w/its patchwork of different colors--my daughter enjoys naming each block of color on the cover. The pulltabs are easy for little fingers to operate--if you're right-handed. If you're a lefty (as is my daughter), it's more difficult, because all the pulltabs are on the right-hand pages. But all in all, I would definitely recommend this book to other parents.

For kids in love with tractors or heavy equipment, this is a fun activity book requiring some but not a lot of help from parents. Colorful, smart illustrations and details about a tractor in trouble, the reader is taken through interactive steps in how to help the tractor's operator, even in operating the necessary machinery and a working carwash! The book is an endearing one (even for parents who know nothing about tractors and didn't think they would ever want to know much about them). It's only downfall is the same thing that is wonderful about it -- there is so much to do, that these activities are quickly overdone, resulting in the need for a good thick roll of tape and some creative mending on the parents' part. It is worth the effort, however! I'd definitely buy it again; he loves it!