The words "road trip" may inspire college students, but they chill parents to the marrow, eliciting visions of wailing babies and memories of tedious trips long past. But Ed Sobey revitalizes the tired car trip. With paper and pencil (they come with the book), some paper clips, string, a map, calculator, and compass, you've a road kit to fill the miles with educational entertainment instead of the usual backseat battles. Designed for kids who can read, the book suggests playing trip navigator, learning car company icons, deciphering vanity plate rebuses, and counting, with eyes closed, the number of times the gears shift. A happy trip is an engaged trip, and Sobel's suggestions come in handy when you tire of 20 questions.
From School Library Journal
Grade 4-6?An appealing and entertaining collection of experiments and games for children traveling by automobile. Activities include designing license plates, measuring the effects of acceleration, finding directions without a compass, using a map, and formulating a weather prediction. Fact sections treat subjects such as the history of the automobile, definitions of road symbols, and the different types of bridges. The computer graphics that appear throughout match the light tone of the text. The book is clearly written and filled with interesting tidbits. However, several of the games presented here are not as stimulating as those found in Sheila Anne Barry's The World's Best Travel Games (Sterling, 1988). Still, Car Smarts will be popular with both parents and children who are planning to hit the road.?Ann M. Burlingame, North Regional Library, Raleigh, NC
Copyright 1998 Reed Business Information, Inc.
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