Review: William Bee’s Wonderful World Of Tractors And Farm Machines by William Bee.

William Bee is back. He loves machines as much as ever, and this time he is exploring the world of tractors and farm machinery. Get ready for a combine harvester, page after page of tractors, and the biggest wheels you have ever seen. 

Starting with modern day machinery, and then moving on to older farm equipment, this book follows William Bee as he gets behind the wheel of different vehicles. With retro-style pictures that give a detailed look at the workings of the different tractors and machines, the illustrations achieve the perfect balance between cheerful and informative. 

William is clearly in command of his world, but he works alongside a group of animated traffic cones. Although William appears to be allowed to try pretty much anything he wants, he does so reponsibly and shares the work with his traffic cone helpers.  

The text explores the reasons each machine exists, and is really informative on the subject of farming. Many younger children’s books about farms skirt over the reason that farms exist – for food production. There certainly isn’t any distressing information, and this side of the text focuses on crops. A page at the back of the book shows the cereal products produced from the crops on the farm. This is a clever way to approach the subject of food production – it doesn’t hide the truth, but it leaves meat out of the equation until children are ready to ask those questions for themselves. 

I am a shameless fan of the William Bee series. There are very few picture books with a single human character, and books like this offer comfort to readers who want to enjoy learning about their interests without stories about social development and interaction. Adults often forget the amount of information younger people collect about their interests and hobbies. Hands up who used to be able to rattle off all 151 original Pokemon, or recite the periodical table, or explain the workings of a steam train?

This series falls somewhere between fact and fiction. It celebrates all things machines and encourages readers to picture themselves in the driver’s seat. 

 

 

Thanks to Pavilion Books and Catherine Ward PR for my copy of William Bee’s Wonderful World Of Tractors And Farm Machines. Opinions my own.