A car-themed take on the alphabet. Text flows well, illustrations are cute -- would be fun to read aloud.

This was a fun and very unique children's book, as it takes you on a mechanical alphabetical journey. Learn about the different parts of the car and how the car actually works. It's perfect for kids who love cars and even this adult learned a lot of new things. The illustrations are cute. I would love to have a version with real pictures, though, to really cement what these parts all look like on a real car and be even more informational as a nonfiction book. But that's probably more to help me to better understand my own car. I can also see using this with a kid to learn about letters and sounds, especially one who has not shown interest in other methods.

Thank you to the publisher for fulfilling my review request via NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Most alphabet books are geared exclusively to the very young. Some authors, though, have started to make them multi age. These books do more than just introduce a word. They teach us about a concept. This particular alphabet book looks at the details of how a car works. We see different parts of the engine: the alternator, the drive shaft, spark plugs, and more. Due to the limits of the format (a single word per letter) the reader won't walk away with a complete understanding of a car engine but it's surely a far cry from "a is for apple". At the very least, it goes a long way towards demystifying mechanics.

Z is for Zoom: A Scientific Alphabet of How Things Go, from Alternator to Zerk Fitting (Baby University). By Ashley Malec, Illustrator: Teresa Bellon. 2020. Sourcebooks eXplore. (ARC eBook).

What a great way to structure a book so that it can be revisited over time, introducing new elements as the child grows. And the illustrations of rabbits, foxes and alligators cruising down the road are adorable and also clearly demonstrate the parts, mechanisms and actions of each A-Z word.

Are you, or your child, searching for something a little out of the ordinary to learn the alphabet? Look no further as a NASCAR mechanic takes us on a ride from Alternator to Zerk Fittings. On each page you’ll see that there are three different levels of learning. There’s the letter. There’s the a little bit about the part that illustrates each letter. Then there’s a more in depth explanation of the parts. Plus there are cute animals. You’ve gotta have cute animals for alphabet books. B

This book is a perfect 10. It could have been used in the very beginning of auto mechanics in high school. Each letter represents some component or function of a car or truck. The author also goes on to explain exactly what it means. So what is Xenon besides the word for letter X? It's an element used in headlights and trust me the description goes on more than that. The author and illustrator of this book have done a fantastic job for car nuts and soon-to-be car nuts. Considering my father's way of babysitting was to hand me a carburetor, have me take it apart, and put it back together at age 3, this book is right up my alley, and it should be on yours too.
#LitsyAtoZkids

A detailed take on the classic alphabet book. Vehicle lovers of all levels will find something here. Cute pictures and more in-depth ideas well draw younger and older readers.

I received an arc of this title from NetGalley for an honest review. This book is a fun and different take on an alphabet book. Parents may need to do some explaining to kids.

I really enjoyed reading this book however, from a school librarian standpoint, I'm not quite sure exactly the kid I would give this to. The language in this book is quite advanced, while the illustrations and ABC format err more toward the younger reader. There are always those kids that are obsessed with cars and there are definitely little ones out there who know that "K is for Kinetic Energy Recovery System" but for most I think that most of the concepts would go over their heads. The readers that are ready to read this text independently are well beyond ABC books and would most likely not be interested because of the perceived target age-range. I'm torn because it really is well-done and includes a lot of information that some kids would really get a kick out of; I just think for the masses it's a not quite hitting the mark.

I do think, however, that this would be great as a baby shower gift for someone who loves cars - so fun!

"Z is for Zoom" takes an A to Z approach to introducing kids to cars. While the language is advanced, the beauty of this book is that the storyteller can adapt the content she reads to the audience. Which is a perfect way to expand vocabulary skills and science knowledge.

I received a free ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is a book about cars and car related subjects. This is a good book because it has very basic name for things but then goes into more detail. So it would be good for beginning readers who don't have much of an attention span and move into reading on their own. The illustrations are cute and the text flows well.

With three levels of description and cute pictures, this alphabet book will delight young readers and their parents as the explore their ABCs and all things related to cars. A perfect addition to the book shelf for any little car lover.

This is a cute little book about cars and the alphabet. I really think kids would enjoy this one and I would definitely use it for a storytime!

There are kids that love dinosaurs and want to read about any and all books on them.

There are kids that love construction, and want to watch buildings being built.

There are kids out there that absolutely love trucks, and can identify them by their sound alone, or so I am guessing.

So, I am guessing that this book would appeal to kids that love the science of cars. Not sure if they would want to read an ABC book to find out, but it is very comprehensive, and I learned things that I didn't know about.

<img class="alignnone size-full wp-image-5600" src="https://g2comm.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/z-is-for-zoom.png" alt="" />

This might be a good book for introducing kids to science. But I think, that this might be too sophisticated for most kids that this book might be aimed at, and I think if I were a parent reading this to my child, I would not read all the text, and instead talk about the vehicles.

Thanks to Netgalley for making this book available for an honest review.

Yikes. If your preschooler knows what torque, kinetic energy and the universal joint of a car are, and can handle words like lubrication and diagnostic, then they might well become talented mechanics, machinists and/or petrol heads with the help of this book. At the same time, the animals pootling around in their family rides, or speeding in racing cars round Le Mans, could equally go right over their heads. I am supposed to admire a book for the young that can teach me something – and this certainly did teach me some, and then some more – but I really don't think the cutesy animals with the crisply diagrammatic artwork, and the short bits of text that verged on the too much for me, are an ideal mix. Admirable, but surely misguided.