Night Cars [Hardcover]

Teddy Jam (Author), Eric Bellows (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 1 and up

It's late night in the city. From his father's shoulder, a sleepless baby watches the snow drift down from the sky onto the busy street below. What are all those noises? What are all those lights? His tired but patient father explains everything, from the bustle of taxis swishing through the slush to the grinding and slamming of the early-morning garbage trucks. Teddy Jam's lyrical prose and Eric Beddows's detailed illustrations cast Night Cars in that magical light between sleep and waking. A warm and witty tale for a cold winter's night.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Bright lights, big city--and a wakeful baby. In this tale, a pajama-clad tot keeps his father up all night long watching the flow of city life on the street below their window. They see snowplows and fire trucks, taxis, dogs and garbage men. Although the cadence of Jam's rhythmic text falters in a couple of places, for the most part it flows smoothly, making the story especially suitable for reading aloud. Beddows's atmospheric drawings are at times reminiscent of Edward Hopper's works, and his use of muted colors give the pages an appealing nostalgic look. It's an agreeable first book, one that should hold special attraction for city kids. Ages 3-6.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 1 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Groundwood Books; 2 edition (October 30, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0888994133
• ISBN-13: 978-0888994134
• Product Dimensions: 10.2 x 10.2 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,209,039 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Don't believe Horn Books, September 27, 1999

By 

Stan Dubinsky ([e-mail]) (South Carolina, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night Cars (Library Binding)

This book is a WONDERFUL bedtime book. One of the best around. The reviewer from Horn Books (who said that the book has badly rhymed verse) clearly has no appreciation for any but the most trivial and obvious rhymes (e.g. night and light). It's all in how you read it. In a British/Canadian vernacular (the author is from Canada), "green" and "again" nearly rhyme in "engines roar, light turns green, night cars on their way again". The text of this book is hypnotic and delightful (AND our child loves to hear it again and again).

Also, the illustrations are far from unexceptional. The artist Eric Beddows has a wonderful sense of detail and weaves visual themes throughout the book.

It's as good or better than "Train Song" by Diane Siebert and Mike Wimmer (Illustrator).

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My kids all love it, a fantastic bedtime story!, September 15, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Night Cars (Library Binding)

Horn Book is under the gross misimpression that poetry which doesnot rhyme is necessarily bad. Night Cars is an endearing story, with a wonderfully sonorous meter. The illustrations hold a toddler's attention. It's a perfect bedtime story for bad sleepers and their parents.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars About a Boy and His Dad, April 23, 2008

By 

Spyder (Napa, CA, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Night Cars (Hardcover)

This is a very sweet book. I was going through some old books, and found this one. My son is almost 18 and about to go off to college. This is the only childhood book of his I saved. It had special meaning to me as a single Dad. The Dad in the book is patient and loving with his young son. The neighborhood presents a world of wonder, but the boy is secure with his Dad. Not many childrens books focus on the father son relationship. This one is a gem.