This is an easy board book to like. It's bright and bold, plus sturdy to boot. Obviously, board books are aimed at the toddler set, and Bob Logan seems to know just what they like. Rockets!
Even though the words are few, I think there's a really cute story being told here. The first page shows a man and his trusty dog walking from their country style farmhouse towards a vintage yellow truck. The scene seems quite pretty vintage until I mention he's wearing a space suit and there's a large sign points down the road, emblazoned with words Rocket Town 17 miles.
The whole town is a curious mix of yesteryear and the projected future. Big, old-fashioned streetlamps mark each corner, and striped awnings adorn the brick buildings. And a giant rocket swoops through, with passengers riding much like they would in a train. Black iron gates surround the park, but the playground equipment inside consists of dozens of rockets! The burger joint looks just as old timey, but the waitresses wear jet powered footwear instead of roller skates.
It's so much fun to see where old fashioned and the future intersect in Bob Logan's mind. The school bus is the same yellow, but hovers five feet in the air. A used rocket shop looks very much like today's used car lots. It is there the man and his dog find a yellow rocket nearly identical to his vintage truck, and they take a very different sort of ride.
I love the thought that went into this story. It's really neat to see an imaginative version of what the future will be like, incorporating many items which will probably be obsolete. I think it is not too often that you find a board book of this caliber. Very clever!
Review copy provided by Sourcebooks.
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