Beep, Beep! Vroom, Vroom! Chug Chug Chug! Kids love books with action words in them, and Candlewick Press has a bunch of terrifically illustrated, sturdy books that are chock-full of words like Swish! and Toot, Toot! Featuring cars, trains, fire engines, and construction vehicles, these books are a terrific addition to your child’s library. My daughter loves hearing us read all of them!

Beep Beep & Choo Choo
Written and illustrated by Petr Horacek
Retail Price: $5.99 US ($7.50 CAN) * Ages 2-5

Beep Beep: When a family piles into a bright yellow car to drive to Grandma’s house, they go BROOM, BROOM through the town; VROOM, VROOM along the highway; and CHUG, CHUG over the crosswalk. Getting there is almost as exciting as the welcome that awaits at the end. BEEP, BEEP!

Choo Choo: What could be more fun than an old-fashioned train ride? Off go the passengers, past the town, into the woods (SHHH, SHHH), over the bridge (CLACK, CLACK), into the tunnel (TOOT, TOOT), and back out into the sunshine. Who could guess that the destination is — a day at the seaside? The bold illustrations and playful sound words in these two board books with die-cut pages are sure to be a hit with preschoolers who love things that go.

MiniBugs: Written and illustrated by Jessica Spanyol
Retail Price: $5.99 US ($7.50 CAN) * Ages 2-5
Bob and His No. 1 Van
Giorgio and His Star Crane Train
Clemence and His Noisy Little Fire Engine
Keith and His Super Stunt Rally Racer

Here come the MiniBugs!
Meet the MiniBugs — four wild, crazy drivers, each with a book of his own. Keith is a master of race-car stunts. Frantically paced and chock-full of action words, this infectious book will have readers clamoring to climb aboard for the ride.

Roadwork
By Sally Sutton, Illustrated by Brian Lovelock
Retail Price: $15.99 US ($17.50 CAN) * Ages 2-5

“Load the dirt. Load the dirt. Scoop and swing and drop. Slam it down into the truck. Bump! Whump! Whop!”

There are many big machines and busy people involved in building a road, and this riveting picture book follows them every step of the way. From clearing a pathway (SCREEK!) to rolling the tar (SQUELCH!) to sweeping up at the end (SWISH!), ROADWORK is sure to draw young onlookers with its rambunctious rhymes and noisy fun. Every preschooler who is mad for machines will revel in this bright, boisterous picture book about the exciting process of building a road.

Visit Candlewick Press to get more wonderful ideas for book gifts this holiday season. They have books for all age groups and interests. Books are a great gift any time of the year!