Product Description

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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #777256 in Books
• Published on: 2000-10-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 32 pages

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.

Customer Reviews

Don't believe Horn Books
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).

My kids all love it, a fantastic bedtime story!
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.

About a Boy and His Dad
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.