Title: Wheels – The Big Fun Book of Vehicles

Written and Illustrated by: Tom Schamp

Published by: Prestel

Wheels – The Big Fun Book of Vehicles is another fun modern style encyclopaedia for children aged 8 upwards. The book is divided into extremely detailed double-page spreads.

“From prehistoric carts to cars of tomorrow, this big, fun book takes a historic journey through a world where everything has wheels, from the Trojan horse to the Harley Davidson; from the stagecoach and the steam train to the Vespa and the Ferrari; from skateboards to electric scooters.

Every spread of this deliriously entertaining and educational book is filled with Tom Schamp’s quirky and colourful art. His sly, subtle texts will make older readers smile. Younger readers will return again and again to these playfully crowded pages to discover what different countries’ emergency vehicles look like; to learn about buses of every imaginable dimension and weight; and to choose which bike they’d use to win a race. Each viewing will reveal charming new details that are as absurdly funny as they are educationally rewarding.”

Blurb from the press release

Wheels explores in picturesque detail different forms of wheeled transport through the ages from stage coaches to limousines and into the future. A child will enjoy dipping in and out to glean snippets of information. At the beginning of the book it includes illustrations of wheels that are antiquities and toys and moves on to wheels from Rome, China and the middle ages. There are no boats in this book. It is about wheels only.

My favourite spreads were the ones on bicycles, race cars and the emergency services.

Children will enjoy exploring the meticulous images during quiet reading time and this book would support a topic on transport at all ages.

Tom Schamps has written and illustrated more than thirty book for children, including It’s A Great Big Colourful World, also published by Prestel.

Wheels – The Big Fun Book of Vehicles is another exciting encyclopaedic omnibus that will keep children engaged and turning the pages.