Miles to Go
Accompanied by his mother, Miles drives his kiddie car (so low-tech, it’s propelled by feet rather than pedal power) out of the garage to the garden hose for a pit stop, then heads down the sidewalk toward school. He greets a neighbor’s dog, stops to mail a letter, and splashes through a puddle, yelling “Car wash!” Narrowly avoiding collision with an umbrella stroller, he arrives at school safely and parks next to his buddy, Otto. Later, back in Miles’ garage, they do some repair work on his car, fixing the horn. Representing preschoolers’ everyday, imaginative play with the seriousness it deserves, this tells a simple story in a satisfying way. The distinctive artwork, a collage of mixed media elements including block prints, watercolor, ink, and cut paper, creates a fresh, cheerful look. The front endpapers feature picture maps using bold, black arrows to show the route from Miles’ house to the school; reversing the arrows, the back endpapers trace the trip home. A neat little package. Preschool-Kindergarten. --Carolyn Phelan