PreS. There can never be enough truck books for some preschoolers, and those who feel that way are sure to love this one--for the sound and rhythm of the words as well as clear, brightly colored pictures of machines in action. As a boy and his mom watch the activity at a building site, the child hears the pounding of the huge machines. Digger goes "Grrr-clank! Grr-clank! Grrr-clank-clank!"; "Flatbed backs and grunts, then backs and grunts some more"; Cement Mixer rumbles and grumbles. The workmen are Digger's helpers, and the pictures show them climbing and clanging, welding and hammering. When all the work is done, there is a new community center for everyone. After a read-aloud, toddlers will want to play out the construction action again and again.
As the assured, silver-tongued narrator weaving amongst the excellent work of approximately 40 British actors, Pullman extends an impossible-to-refuse invitation to listening adventure on this splendid adaptation of the much-anticipated conclusion to the His Dark Materials trilogy. The author picks up the story of Lyra Belaqua where it left off in The Subtle Knife. In the most provocative installment yet, Lyra finds herself at the center of what is to be the final battle between good and evil she is a target for the Church, which sees her as a threat. But she is also happily re-teamed with Will Parry, the young hero who Lyra eventually recognizes is her soul mate/true love. Throughout, Pullman challenges Christianity and God (who is a craggy old man here, very different from the usual biblical depiction), asking readers to examine the ideas of organized religion. Favorite characters such as Iorek the bear and Lyra's parents, Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter, return, though the introduction of layers of new creatu
