Supertrucks (Mean Machines) - Softcover

Paul was born in Newcastle-upon-Tyne and grew up in County Durham. This left him with an accent that people find trustworthy, surveys have confirmed. It also left him with an allegiance to Newcastle United football club. Newcastle won their last major trophy months before he was born. In bleak moments, he wonders if this is his fault. After a degree in Southampton he worked in a variety of different jobs with mixed success. He's been a labourer for a roofer (rubbish), a labourer for a builder (he was keen, but rubbish), a waiter (really rubbish) and a barman (merely adequate). He's sold double glazing (rubbish), toys (not bad), and garden furniture (all right at that). Somehow he never got sacked-it must have been that trustworthy accent. Since then he's been a children's books editor (not bad at that, actually) and now he writes them for what may loosely be described as a living. Paul lives with his wife and two children in West Sussex.

Gr 3-6-Kids who want to read about the biggest, fastest, or strongest vehicles will quickly grab these titles, each of which features 14-to-16 notable machines. All of the text is contained in boxes and photo captions, with a "Super Stats" table that details specifications about speed, size, power, and even price (for some). The indexes are minimal and words defined in the glossaries are not indicated in the texts, which limits their use for research. However, the large color photos and intriguing covers will draw browsers. Unfortunately, the texts are marred by errors and misspellings (e.g., in Superbikes, "cc" is defined as "cubic capacity" rather than "cubic centimeters"; in Superplanes, maneuverable and maneuverability are misspelled; and in Supercars, one sentence reads, "It has a big trunk and could easily carry home a family's supermarket shop."). Some of the books in Enslow's "Wild Wheels" series (2007) cover the same territory in a more comprehensive fashion, though the format may be less attractive to browsers.α(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.