First book of . . . series by Isobel Thomas

First book of tractors and trucks by Isobel Thomas. Bloomsbury, 2013. ISBN 9781 4081 9292 4
First book of trains by Isobel Thomas. Bloomsbury, 2013. ISBN 978 1 4081 9291 7
First book of aircraft by Isobel Thomas. Bloomsbury, 2013. ISBN 978 1 4081 9293 4
(Age: 5-7) Recommended. Machinery. This easily held, colourful and informative set of little books for younger readers will introduce them to the delights of non fiction with its easy to read and highly pictorial style of presentation. Each of the three books I read have the same easy to use features including concise contents and index page, and I was pleased to see on the back cover that more are in the offing.
Using the aircraft book as a guide, each page presents an illustration of the aircraft under discussion, with pointers showing its features. A small amount of information is included, adding to the boxes of information which will readily draw the eye of the reader. The illustrations are clear, labelled and uncluttered, allowing a child to see clearly what the machine has. Some planes have a double page spread (cargo plane, supe jumbo, helicopter, titlrotor and seaplane) while all the rest (25 in all) have only one page. A glossary of words is followed by a spotter's guide for the last few pages and then a page of useful websites to follow up after reading the book.
The train, tractors and trucks books follow the same layout, simple, clear and informative and the set would be a useful group of non fiction books for the early reader. I enjoyed reading them particularly the aircraft book, all of which was new to me, and I am sure boys particularly will love them.
Fran Knight