Transportation Book List
Emergency Vehicles
Emergency! by Gail Gibbons
How police, firefighters and others respond to emergencies.
Big Book of Rescue Vehicles, by Caroline Bingham
Text and detailed photographs explain how various emergency vehicles work, including the fire engine, rescue hovercraft, and snow mobile and rescue sled.
Emergency! By Margaret Mayo
Rescue vehicles race to help during a variety of emergencies.
If I Could Drive an Ambulance, by Michael Teitelbaum
A young boy describes all the work he would do if he drove an ambulance.
A Fire Engine for Ruthie, by Leslea Newman
Ruthie’s Nana suggests playing tea party and fashion show during their visit, but Ruthie is much more interested in the vehicles that a neighbor boy is playing with as they pass his house each day.
Buses
A Bus for Us, by Suzanne Bloom
On her first day of school, Tess wonders what the school bus will look like.
Don’t Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus, by Mo Willems
In this hilarious picture book debut, popular cartoonist Mo Willems (“Sesame Street, Sheep in the City”) perfectly captures a preschooler’s temper tantrum in the guise of a pigeon who pleads, wheedles, and begs his way through the story.
School Bus, by Crews
Brief text and illustrations trace the journey of a school bus as it picks up passengers takes them to their destination.
The Smushy Bus, by Leslie Helakoski
When the regular schoolbus is in the shop, a clever driver must use all that he knows about addition and subtraction to ensure that seventy-six children get on–and off–of the four-seat substitute bus.
The Magic School Bus, by Joanna Cole
Join Mrs. Frizzle and explore the wonderful world.
Vehicle Characters
Katy and the Big Snow, by Virginia Lee
Burton Katy, a red crawler tractor, goes to work in different weather conditions for the Highway Department in the city of Geoppolis.
Mike Mulligan and the Steam Shovel, by Virginia Lee Burton Mike Mulligan proves that, although dated, his steam shovel is still useful.
Diggers
The Diggers, by Margaret Wise Brown
Verses describe the holes that a mole, dog, worm, and rabbit dig, but none can compare with the work of a man and his steam shovel.
Dazzling Diggers, by Tony Mitton
Animals operate digging machines that scoop, lift, move rubble, squish through mud, and help buildings tower up tall.
All About Diggers, by Paul Stickland depicts different kinds of earth moving machines and their various uses.
Dig, Dig, Digging, by Margaret Mayo
Simple rhymes introduce various large vehicles, such as dump trucks, fire engines, and tractors, and describe the work that they do.
Machines at Work, by Byron Barton
During a busy day at the construction site, the workers use a variety of machines to knock down a building and begin constructing a new one.
Trains
The Jones Family Express, by Javaka Steptoe
The Little Engine That Could, by Watty Piper
The Polar Express, by Chris Van Allsburg
Train Song, by Diane Siebert
Rhymed text and illustrations describe the journey of a transcontinental trains.
Seymour Simon’s Book of Trains, by Seymour Simon
Photographs and brief text present different kinds of trains and their cars: passenger trains, mountain trains, freight trains, diesel locomotives, gondolas, hopper cars, tank cars, and more.
All Aboard, by Susan Kuklin
A journey through part of the Colorado Rockies aboard a steam locomotive of the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Includes historical and descriptive notes on the Durango & Silverton trains.
Inside Freight Train, by Crews Author takes children right on board as they slide open the doors to see what’s inside each train car.
The Little Train, by Lois Lenski
Engineer Small at the throttle takes the little train on its run from Tiny Town to the big city.
Trouble on the Road
The Rattlebang Picnic, by Margaret Mahy
The McTavishes, their seven children, and Granny McTavish take their old rattlebang of a car on a picnic up Mt. Fogg and have an exciting adventure.
Pigs in the Mud in the Middle of the Rud, by Lynne Plourde
A feisty grandmother and her family struggle to get an assortment of farm animals out of the road so the family can pass in their T-Model Ford.
Sheep in a Jeep, by Nancy Shaw
A frolicking adventure of five sheep traveling in a jeep told in silly rhyme.
One Duck Stuck, by Phyllis Root
In this counting book, increasingly larger groups of animals try to help a duck that is stuck in the sleepy, slimy marsh.
Mr. Gumpy’s Motorcar, by John Burningham
Mr. Gumpy’s human and animal friends squash into his old car and go for a drive — until it starts to rain
Other modes of transportation
Quack! by Arthur Yorinks
Quack, a young duck, builds a rocket and goes to the moon, only to find that he misses home.
The Yellow Balloon, by Charlotte Dematons
A yellow balloon sails around the world.
Zoom Broom, by Margie Palatini
When her broom breaks down, Gritch the Witch visits a foxy salesman in search of a new Zoom Broom but ends up with something unexpected.
The Flying Dragon Room, by Audrey Wood
With the help of Mrs. Jenkins’ magic tools, Patrick builds a fabulous place of his very own.
Maila and the Flying Carpet, by Denise Trez
When the spoiled little prince finally gets the flying carpet he wants, he sets out to rescue a lamb from an eagle, warn zebras of a lurking lion, and win a flying carpet race before his rug unravels.
Bikes
Duck on a Bike, by David Shannon
A duck ecides to ride a bike and soon influences all the other animals on the farm to ride bikes too.
My Rows and Piles of Coins, Tollolwa Mollel
A Tanzanian boy saves his coins to buy a bicycle so that he can help his parents carry goods to market, but then he discovers that in spite of all he has saved, he still does not have enough money.
Blue Rabbit and the Runaway Wheel, by Christopher Wormell
In search of the wheel that fell off his bicycle, Blue Rabbit encounters several animals, all of whom have been disturbed by a strange “whizzing” object.
Marta and the Bicycle, by Germano Zullo
While the other cows on Monsieur Gruyere’s farm dream about becoming train engineers, Marta opts to ride the much quieter bicycle, and after a year of practice, becomes a skilled rider.
My Sister’s Rusty Bike, by Jim Aylesworth
A rhyming tale of a zany, zigzag trip around America.
Flight
Lisa’s Airplane Trip, by Anne Gutman
Lisa takes an exciting airplane ride all by herself from Paris to New York.
Miss Mouse Takes Off, by Jan Ormerod
A rag doll takes an airplane trip to visit Granny.
This Plane, by Paul Collicut
Simple text and illustrations present different types of airplanes and the work they do.
First Flight, by David McPhail
A naughty teddy bear, in contrast with his well-behaved owner, ignores all the rules and disrupts their first airplane trip.
Some Dogs Do, by Jez Alborough
When Sid tries to convince his doggy classmates that he flew to school, they do not believe him.
Boats
One-Dog Canoe, by Mary Casanova
A girl and her dog set out in their canoe one morning, only to be insistently joined by a series of animals, large and small.
How I Became A Pirate, by Melinda Long
Jeremy Jacob joins Braid Beard and his pirate crew and finds out about pirate language, pirate manners, and other aspects of their life.
Ebb & Flo and the New Friend, by Jane Simmons
When Bird flaps in and steals Ebb’s favorite sitting spot on Flo’s boat, Ebb is angry. She wishes Bird would fly away so everything could be just as it was before. But when Bird disappears, Ebb misses her! Has this new face become a new friend? And is she gone for good?
The Sea House, by Deborah Turney Zagwyn
Uncle Fishtank Hal takes Clee and Simon aboard his barge, and after trouble with some pesky knots they find themselves at sea.
Captain Bob Sets Sail, by Roni Schotter
Bathtime becomes an adventure as Captain Bob sets out to brave Bath Bay and Faucet Falls.
Walking or Not
The Cat Who Walked Across France, by Kate Banks
After his owner dies, a cat wanders across the countryside of France, unable to forget the home he had in the stone house by the edge of the sea.
We All Went On Safari, by Laurie Krebs
Follows a Tanzanian family through the African grasslands as they count the animals they see, from one leopard to ten elepants; includes information about Tanzania and Swahili names and numbers.
The King’s Stilts, by Dr. Seuss
Mama Zooms, by Jane Cowen-Fletcher
A boy’s wonderful mamatakes him zooming everywhere with her, because her wheelchair is a zooming machine
Henry Works, by D.B. Johnson
On a misty morning, Henry, a bear modeled after Henry David Thoreau, shows his awareness of nature as he helps neighbors during his walk to work.
Journey
Goin’ to Boston: An Exuberant Journey in Song, by Ellen Margolin
Led by a girl on a bicycle, a collection of farmers, families, animals, and musicians takes a rollicking trip to Boston Common in this new version of an old Appalachian folk song.
Grandfather’s Journey, by Alan Say
A Japanese American man recounts his grandfather’s journey to America which he later also undertakes, and the feelings of being torn by a love for two different countries.
Miss Bridie Chose a Shovel, by Leslie Connor
Miss Bridie emigrates to America in 1856 and chooses to bring a shovel, which proves to be a useful tool throughout her life.
Come With Me: Poems for a Journey, by Naomi Shihab Nye
A collection of poems about journeys.
The Relatives Came, by Cynthia Rylant
The relatives come to visit from Virginia and everyone has a wonderful time.
The Jolly Postman, by Janet Ahlberg
Twelve of the pages have been made into envelopes and contain letters and other written material which help tell the story of the postman’s delivery route one particular day.
The House in the Mail, by Rosemary Wells
In 1927, Emily describes the ordering, arrival, and assembly of a mail-order house for her growing family.
Bunny Mail, by Rosemary Wells
While Ruby plans a Fourth of July doll picnic, Max sends letters to Santa to ask for “a bright red Sand-Spitter Motorcycle with Bigfoot tires,” but the letters are delivered to his grandmother, instead, and she must try to decipher the pictures. Includes lift-up flaps.
Dear Mrs. LaRue: Letters from Obedience School, by Mark Teague
Gertrude LaRue receives typewritten and paw-written letters from her dog Ike, entreating her to let him leave the Igor Brotweiler Canine Academy and come back home.
Compiled by Annette Birdsall, Fingerlakes Library System, New York State
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