Without a doubt Bang by Leo Timmers will win – hands down – the 2013 prize for the “Most Brilliant Use of Just Two Words in a Book“. It will also win the “Most Unlikely Scenario for Making a Really Funny Children’s Book“. After all, a 10 car pile-up with smashed chassis and goods strewn everywhere isn’t a bowlful of cherries or a reassuring hug at bedtime.
But Bang is most definitely a brilliant, bonkers book, and if it doesn’t win some sort of accolade (other than the ones I’ve awarded it) I’ll be most surprised.
The premise is simple: One car after another bangs into the car in front.
The text is simple: Double-page, wordless illustrations of brightly coloured vehicles crashing into each other alternate with an explosive “bang”, before finally someone manages to apply the brakes with a satisfying “eeeeeeeeeee”.
But the joy of reading and listening to this book is satisfying and many-layered.
There’s the slap stick humour, and the delicious inevitability – which kids quickly sense – about what’s going to happen on the next page.
There’s the enormous fun to be had reading the few words there are out loud – you’ve license to make lots of noise with the crashes getting ever louder. And of course kids will soon be joining in themselves.
There are the rich illustrations, with intense colours and funny detail. Whilst the Timmers’ execution is very different to Richard Scarry, it is easy to imagine Timmers’ vehicles and drivers inhabiting Busy Town.
And then there’s the capturing of an uncomplicated childhood delight – lying on the floor with a load of toy cars and zooming them around, laughing as they bash into each other.
Really, this book is perfect; an explosion of colour and giggles, which will echo to the plea, “Again, again, AGAIN!”
It was inevitable that we got out our toy cars after reading this lovely book. And quickly we came up with a game to play, where points were doubled for every car crash.
On a long roll of wallpaper backing paper we stuck down some coloured gummed circles. The girls labelled them up with points. Once the runway was set up (with crash barriers built from building blocks) we lined up at one end and shot our cars down the track.
If our cars landed on a gummed circle we scored the number of points indicated on that circle.
If our car knocked another car off its circle we scored DOUBLE the points indicated on that circle.
Competitive car games have never been this much fun (or this sneaky a way to get some maths into our play!!)
We enjoyed this music whilst crashing our cars into each other:
and of course
Other activities which could be great fun alongside reading Bang by Leo Timmers include:
What are your favourite books which make great use of onomatopoeia?
Disclosure: I was sent a review copy of this book by the distributors. I was not obliged to review it, nor did I receive any payment for reviewing it.
Stephanie
The simple things are often the best. What a fun sounding book!
ReadItDaddy
Really really want this book. It’s got all the right ingredients. We love Leo Timmers, we love any book that has chaotic car stuff in it, and it sounds like a book that snowballs from a fairly simple start into abject chaos.
On the list it goes!
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Sam
Love the car activity on the wallpaper backing! What a great way to be creative and get them practicing maths. I am trying to think of books that function purely (or mostly) on onomatopoeia but can’t at the moment… will keep trying!
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Zoe
Stephanie – thanks! Yes, couldn’t agree more.
ReadItDaddy – you’ve got it spot on – and the chaos at the end is so funny!
Sam – shh! Don’t tell the kids they were practising their maths! It’s a secret 😉
Zoe recently posted..How can a full scale road traffic accident make a brilliant book?
bamauthor
Sounds like the type of book that will win awards. Love the car race game…..
bamauthor recently posted..WEIRD AND WONDERFUL
moral stories for kids
These book is one of its kinds.Such a great concept introduce to make children fall in love with a book.
SIMONE FRASER
Zoe, YOU ARE THE MOST INSPIRING CREATIVE PARENT EVER!
Becky
One of our fave books is Jump in! Your car play looks fab fun!
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