Garage

I couldn't say whether this book would interest children - I found a couple of the flaps surprisingly hard to open and the story entirely lacking in narrative - but purely in terms of paper engineering, it is a must-have for the collector. There is a shockingly simple but amusing set of drawers, and two examples of an eccentric-driven, ratcheting mechanism which takes two or three full movements of a lever to complete a motion and then two or three to return the visible part to its original place. Stunning!

Sturdy pop-up books that won't come apart at the touch of a very young hand seem to be in short supply, which is one reason why I was so taken with this bright, fun book by Steve Augarde. A Brit who is an animator for the BBC series Bump, Augarde has illustrated "Garage" in bold, cheerful colors and offered a realistic size (10" by 7") for 3 - 7 year-olds. Youngsters can play pretend by turning the pages and putting a car on a hydraulic lift, balancing the tires, fixing a leaky engine, and generally making a car or truck road worthy again. This is an interactive book that not only turns wheels but also young minds as they follow the activity in a busy garage. - Gail Cooke