Ty loves adventure, but he is having a little trouble finding someone to join him.Ty, a little black boy, wants to play, but everyone in the house is too busy to take time for him. After being turned down by his dad, mom, and big brother, Corey, Ty wanders downstairs to the family room, where he finds an empty cardboard box. He and his puppy inspect the box, draw some wheels onto it, and make a locomotive that rumbles and whistles down an imaginary track. Ty steers his train past farmland and a city and through a tunnel, picking up familiar and eager passengers along the way. This My First I Can Read book will engage young beginning readers. They will relate to Ty's playfulness, sense of adventure, and energetic imagination. Readers will also enjoy the vivid and playful illustrations that take them from Ty's home and into the world he imagines. Repeated onomatopoeic phrases build anticipation: "Woo-woo," "Chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga," and "Clickety-clack." These are framed around the pickup of each passenger, helping to control pacing while giving readers an opportunity for fun. Mata renders the imaginary scenes in a childlike crayon that blends nicely with the warm visions of this black family's middle-class home.Both an excellent book for guided reading and a winning read-aloud. (Early reader. 4-6)

Ty loves adventure, but he is having a little trouble finding someone to join him.Ty, a little black boy, wants to play, but everyone in the house is too busy to take time for him. After being turned down by his dad, mom, and big brother, Corey, Ty wanders downstairs to the family room, where he finds an empty cardboard box. He and his puppy inspect the box, draw some wheels onto it, and make a locomotive that rumbles and whistles down an imaginary track. Ty steers his train past farmland and a city and through a tunnel, picking up familiar and eager passengers along the way. This My First I Can Read book will engage young beginning readers. They will relate to Ty's playfulness, sense of adventure, and energetic imagination. Readers will also enjoy the vivid and playful illustrations that take them from Ty's home and into the world he imagines. Repeated onomatopoeic phrases build anticipation: "Woo-woo," "Chugga-chugga-chugga-chugga," and "Clickety-clack." These are framed around the pickup of each passenger, helping to control pacing while giving readers an opportunity for fun. Mata renders the imaginary scenes in a childlike crayon that blends nicely with the warm visions of this black family's middle-class home.Both an excellent book for guided reading and a winning read-aloud. (Early reader. 4-6)

LYONS, Kelly Starling . Ty's Travels: Zip, Zoom! ISBN 9780062951106 ; ISBN 9780062951090 . ea vol: illus. by Nina Mata. 32p. (My First I Can Read). HarperCollins / Harper . Sept. 2020. Tr. $16.99. pap. $4.99. K-Gr 2 In the "Ty's Travels" series, a young Black boy brings his imagination to playtime along with a box and his scooter. In Zip, Zoom! Ty learns to ride his scooter in the park as his mother encourages him that he can do it. Along the way he imagines people in a stadium waving flags and rooting for him. He gets a bit discouraged when he falls off his scooter but a young girl named Ari, also Black, tells him not to give up and she shows him how it's done, then rides along with him. In All Aboard! Ty is excited to play, asking his parents and brother to join in, but they are all busy. In the basement, he finds a box and visualizes it as a train, and takes a trip. With simple sentence structures that reinforce skills for emerging readers, Lyons gets to the heart of what it means to be a young child with imagination. The illustrations provide visual clues to Ty's day, with the dynamic scenes in the park providing a bustling, multicultural landscape. VERDICT Children will enjoy and be able to relate to the young boy's game of pretend as he navigates ordinary events. Add this to the beginning readers shelves with confidence.Annmarie Braithwaite, New York P.L., New York City