I have found possibly the most 'petrolhead' kid's book ever...

"RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars" (rallydarkstrike)
07/07/2020 at 09:00 • Filed to: Picture Book, Kids Book

To start off, my twin (fraternal, not identical) brother and I are both substitute teachers, who, as some of you know, still live at home while we’re saving up for our own houses (we don’t want to rent, other than paying mom some rent for staying here until we save up).

Now....mom is also a retired teacher of 43 years (retired in 2015) and, with COVID, has been going through a lot of her old stuff to get rid of it with all the newfound being-stuck-at-home time. Today I found this book amongst her piles. It’s not one of my, or my twin brother’s books from when we were kids as I don’t remember it AT ALL, so it must’ve come from her stash.

It’s an old kids ‘board’ book...I’m guessing from the late ‘70s/early ‘80s, as you’ll soon see.

Sometimes you pick up a book and just KNOW the author or illustrator put a lot of effort into it. That is IMMEDIATELY apparent in this book. It’s a short book, being a ‘board’ book, with minimal sentences for kids learning to read, but the illustrations...man, the illustrations and detail! Most kids books have generic cars and trucks that just look like...cars and trucks, but NOT this one!

Here’s the front cover...

I mean, look at the detail on that Mercedes and BMW! I’m reasonably sure the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and the !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! . The illustrator even put them in a stereotypical German setting with very German architecture...and even the license plates are authentic! Not sure what the blue car is in the background though....thoughts?

OK, now that you can see what I mean by ‘man...the illustrations and detail’....on to the first and second pages! La Belle France! :D We have an amazing and very green Citroen CX in the forefront, a Citroen Dyane in the background on the left, along with a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ...a red 2CV in the background on the right, and the rear end of a pre-facelift Renault 5 on the right! My pictures suck as the lighting was terrible and I couldn’t use my flash to take the pics as the pages (being a ‘board’ book) are shiny and just caused terrible reflections...but trust me when I saw the badge on the rear of that Renault actually says ‘Renault 5 LTD’....I told you it was detailed! Also, note the cheeky period Renault dealer-style logo on the wall of the building behind the red Peugeot!

Page 3-4! A late-70's Porsche 911 and a facelifted !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ....I mean, the illustrator even put only one mirror on the 6, as most of them had! When’s the last time you saw an Alfa 6 in ANYTHING, let along a children’s book???

Page 5-6! Old race cars are not my forte, but I see lots of old racers including an !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! and an !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! , all in authentic and very accurate liveries!

Pages 7-8! Obvious bus is obvious...the famed !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! double-decker makes up most of these pages. I really don’t know my British cars enough to know all the cars in the background...the gray car on the left in the background does look like a Daimler though?

The last two pages...your standard, classic !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! London Taxi and !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!!

But, it doesn’t end there! It, of course, ends on the back cover, where we have an awesome early Volvo 240 sedan and a !!!error: Indecipherable SUB-paragraph formatting!!! ! :D

The author and illustrator aren’t listed anywhere in the book, and that tiny little mark on the rear bottom corner is all we have on the publisher, etc.

Thank you awesome ‘A Picture Book Of Motor Cars’ author and illustrator, wherever you are! :

DISCUSSION (32)

pip bip - choose Corrour > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
07/07/2020 at 09:08

good find

ihm96 > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
07/07/2020 at 09:11

Love stuff like this

Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
07/07/2020 at 09:14

The passenger cars are from an era where the design ethos was, sit in the car and look out the windows at the countryside. Cars had actual windows.

kanadanmajava1 > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
07/07/2020 at 09:17

Nice! I Googled the name and found an older 1968 edition for sale.

Kinja'd!!!

The publisher (Froebel-Kan Co Ltd ) is the same but the author is also unknown.

Kinja'd!!!

Style is slightly different so the author/artist might be different person.

Kinja'd!!!

Tripper > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
07/07/2020 at 09:29

That is awesome! I can only find the older editions for sale:/

CalzoneGolem > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
07/07/2020 at 09:30

These pictures are AMAZING.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > pip bip - choose Corrour
07/07/2020 at 09:45

I saw it out of the corner of my eye and was psyched, haha!

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > ihm96
07/07/2020 at 09:46

So do I! :D

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
07/07/2020 at 09:46

Yes...unlike the current Mazda3, which I really like, but my GOD that rear pillar is thick as hell!

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > kanadanmajava1
07/07/2020 at 09:47

Wow, that’s awesome! I never thought to look it up and see if there were any other versions! Those pictures look just as authentic....love that Mack truck at the end! :D

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Tripper
07/07/2020 at 09:48

I never even thought to look the title up online! Pretty cool that there ARE older versions! :D

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > CalzoneGolem
07/07/2020 at 09:48

I was REALLY surprised when I saw the BMW no the cover and started thumbing through the pages! :D

CalzoneGolem > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
07/07/2020 at 09:56

I can’t believe the detail the artist went into for this child’s book. I wonder if the art existed before and was re- pu rposed for the book?

MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
07/07/2020 at 10:02

That is a fantastic find. This got me googling children’s books related to cars and I came across this list.

http://www.booknerdmommy.com/the-ultimate-list-of-the-best-books-for-vehicle-loving-kids/

I want to buy all of these for my kid lol

Jim Spanfeller > kanadanmajava1
07/07/2020 at 10:10

Ooh, ‘57 Ford! These books are amazing.

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > CalzoneGolem
07/07/2020 at 10:26

Maybe they were advertising or something? Not sure, they certainly all seem like they were done specifically for the book!

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s
07/07/2020 at 10:26

This is awesome....I should bookmark this as I could get some of these for the classroom when I’ve got car-loving kids in the classes I teach!

shop-teacher > MasterMario - Keeper of the V8s
07/07/2020 at 10:31

I can vouch that "Steam Train Dream Train" "Goodnight Construction Site" and "How to Walk a Dump Truck" are all good. If you don't have "Richard Scarey's Cars and Trucks and Things that go" you must buy it.

shop-teacher > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
07/07/2020 at 10:32

That's an awesome find!

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > shop-teacher
07/07/2020 at 11:32

You always see cars you had missed before with that book. There are everything from Kubelwagens to Deu x Chevauxes.

Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
07/07/2020 at 11:34

This reminds me of my car spotting in the past series only more artistic. This was clearly a labor of love. What is the publication date?

RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars > Who is the Leader - 404 / Blog No Longer Available
07/07/2020 at 11:53

No idea on the date! There’s none listed! Judging from the fact they have a post-facelift Alfa 6, I’d guess very early ‘ 80s?

fintail > RallyDarkstrike - Fan of 2-cyl FIATs, Eastern Bloc & Kei cars
07/07/2020 at 12:39

I think the blue car on the cover is kind of a generic “car” - reminds me of MB114/115 . I like how the plates are even authentic down to the cities where the companies are from - M and S prefix. I wonder if the illustrator used promo pics.

The cars in the London bus pic are what would see on the road there in the 50s. Cars to the left make me think Austin A40 Devon/maybe earlier Austin 16 etc. The “R” registration on the Rolls-Royce would date it to 1977 - with the black bumper, it is a facelift car which matches that date.