Unconventional Vehicles: Forty-Five of the Strangest Cars, Trains, Planes, Submersibles, Dirigibles, and Rockets EVER by Michael Hearst


Unconventional Vehicles: Forty-Five of the Strangest Cars, Trains, Planes, Submersibles, Dirigibles, and Rockets EVER
Title : Unconventional Vehicles: Forty-Five of the Strangest Cars, Trains, Planes, Submersibles, Dirigibles, and Rockets EVER
Author :
Rating :
ISBN : 1452172862
ISBN-10 : 9781452172866
Language : English
Format Type : Hardcover
Number of Pages : 104
Publication : Published September 15, 2020

Think you know vehicles? Think again!

Unconventional Vehicles is a nonfiction collection of 45 of the strangest, most unconventional vehicles that have ever existed.

Vehicles include an underwater battery-powered scooter, a carriage pulled by ostriches, a hot air balloon shaped like the Cathedral of Saint Gall, and five different jet packs.

• Filled with history, science, technology, engineering, and interesting bits of trivia, all in one kid-appealing package
• Part of the Uncommon Compendiums series
• Vehicles range from submersibles to dirigibles.

Unconventional Vehicles explores very strange modes of transportation for vehicle fans, rocket inventors, budding space-and-aeronautics experts, and anyone who's ever thought, "Why can't I ride a motorized suitcase through the airport?"

Brimming with fascinating facts and diagrams presented with wit and humor, this book is sure to enthrall vehicle enthusiasts of every age.

• Ideal for children ages 8 to 12 years old, especially those interested in vehicles and engineering
• Author Michael Hearst brings his signature verve and humor to this fascinating read.
• Young readers will devour all the substantive and silly content in this book, proving definitively that nonfiction is anything but dry.
• Resonates year-round as a go-to gift for birthdays, holidays, and more
• A great pick for teachers, parents, grandparents, and caregivers
• Add it to the shelf with books like Cars, Trains, Ships, and A Visual Encyclopedia of Every Vehicle by DK; Stephen Biesty's Incredible Cross-Sections by Stephen Biesty; and Cool Cars by Quentin Willson,

Unconventional Vehicles: Forty-Five of the Strangest Cars, Trains, Planes, Submersibles, Dirigibles, and Rockets EVER Reviews

  • Vannessa Anderson

    uthor Hearst opens the book by asking: What do you think of when you hear the word “vehicle?” And, of course, my mind was as predictable as author Hearst predicted—a car.

    Author Hearst reminds us that boats, airplanes, blimps, submarines, bicycles, roller skates, and grocery store carts are all vehicles. Anything that transport a person or a non-person from point A to point B is a vehicle including animals, tanks, helicopters and even tortilla chips which are unconventional transports because they transport dips to one’s lips!

    Unconventional Vehicles provide a lot of information and the illustrations and explanations were laid out so not to overwhelm readers. The illustrations and page colors were subdued so as not to tire the eyes.

    Unconventional Vehicles was an informative read!

  • BiblioBrandie

    I love middle grade nonfiction and this is a great example! Captivating look at all forms of transportation. The illustrations are great and I learned more about modes of transportation than I ever imagined I'd want to. It's very clever, I laughed out loud in some sections, and there are even some fun poems and trivia sprinkled throughout. Bonus: Bath Iron Works is featured (even if it is for war ships). I love how the author ended with talking about walking and how all this transportation affects the environment.
    Question: Why don't middle grade books have bibliographies?
    My only complaint is that almost every illustration features a white man. Sometimes this makes sense because it's about a specific inventor who was a white men. But then there are illustrations of roller skaters, those are all white men, and skateboarders, those are all white men, etc. I think there were some missed opportunities to diversify the illustrations.