An artist born in a taxi shows a train, fire truck and other vehicles in action

Machines Go To Work. By William Low. Holt, 42 pp., $14.95. Ages 5 and under.

By Janice Harayda

William Low was born in the back seat of a taxi in the Bronx, so perhaps it isn’t surprising that he has written an excellent book about transportation. Machines Go to Work unfolds as a series of small dramas about familiar conveyances, all described in a clear and at times onomatopoetic text – a backhoe, fire truck, cement mixer, tow truck, tugboat, container ship, freight train, and news helicopter.

In each case Low introduces a machine, then asks a question or makes a statement that encourages you to lift a flap and see it in action. He writes on one spread: “When the drawbridge opens, the container ship may pass. Will it fit through the narrow gap?” You lift a flap and see the ship passing under the raised bridge with the help of red tugboat. On another spread Low shows a helicopter rushing toward a news event: “Is there an accident ahead?” No, just a row of ducklings crossing a street.

Cynics may see Low’s ducklings as a form of brazen pandering to American Library Association awards judges — who gave their 1942 Caldecott Medal to Make Way for Ducklings — while others may view them as a lovely homage to Robert McCloskey’s classic. But Machines Go to Work is so good, it hardly matters. Low suggests the power of his machines through rich, saturated colors and what appear to be thick oil-paint brushstrokes but are, in fact, digital art created with Photoshop and Painter software.

Low has also found a way around the problem with most lift-the-flap books: Children can too easily rip off the flaps. All of his “flaps” are sturdy full-page gatefolds, which should make the pages last for the life of the book. And at the back, Low explains what each machine does in a helpful thumbnail sketch. Low writes of the fire truck: “This truck is so long that it needs two steering wheels: one in the front and one in the back!” His deft blend of drama and facts would make this a fine gift for a 2-to-4-year-old who loves anything with wheels.

Best line/picture: The freight train gatefold opens out to four pages (instead of the three the other machines get) to show “its 22 cars and a caboose in the back.”

Worst line/picture: Low calls cherry trees “cherry blossom trees,” which may be how children see them but also leave a misimpression about their name.

Published: May 2009

Furthermore: Low explains how he creates his digital images in a three-part video on the Holt site.

About the author: Low’s picture books include Old Penn Station, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book.

You can also follow Jan Harayda on Twitter (@janiceharayda) www.twitter.com/janiceharayda. Children’s book reviews appear every Saturday on One-Minute Book Reviews.

© 2009 Janice Harayda. All rights reserved.

TWO more asylum-seeker boats carrying a combined total of 57 people, including six crew, have been intercepted in the Timor Sea heading for the Australian territory of Ashmore Reef…. From The Australian. Full story

This site may contain information about: boat price. The blog is also related to: boat brands.

We thought the aliens had arrived one wintry night when we saw a strange large object sparkling like a Christmas tree off Indented Head in the West Channel. It stayed for several days and was well attended by port tug boats before eventually being towed into Geelong. This multi-storey structure was actually an oil rig, the 13,000 tonne Kan Tan IV and over 100m tall. It had made an amazing 45 day journey from Trinidad and Tobago (on the deck of a transport ship).

Kan Tan spent several months in Geelong at Lascelles Wharf being refitted. Then in September it returned to the spot where we had first seen it off Pt George. After a week of testing, it was ready to go again.  It was towed through The Rip to start its new life as a rig in Bass Strait where it is now being commissioned.

Oil rig passes Portarlington pier on way to Geelong	Oil rig being serviced at the Geelong Dock
Oil rig being towed to The Rip	Kan Tan IV going through Rip

This is near a pub where I live in Maldon, Essex.
Also near a boat yard & a canal as you can see in the photo.
I love how blue the sky is considering how freezing it was that day,
 which you can see on the ground; snow!!
I think its interesting how the picture has captured two completely
different weather types. What a strange but wonderful world we live in.

The last ones of Karpathos, I promise

A tree by the sea,  a view from a cliff and boats at harbour.

Greece Karpathos - September 2009

Greece Karpathos - September 2009

Greece Karpathos - September 2009

Some photos here of Dromineer, Garrykennedy, Killaloe, Parteen Villa Weir, O’Briensbridge and Castleconnell.

SRI Lanka has seized four fishing boatswith more than 100 asylum-seekers believed to be heading to Australia…. From The Australian. Full story

This site may contain information about: house boat. The blog is also related to: house boat.

SRI Lanka has seized four fishing boatswith more than 100 asylum-seekers believed to be heading to Australia…. From The Australian. Full story

This site may contain information about: flyfishing. The blog is also related to: fishing tackle.

I love love love Christmas! It’s my favorite time of the year, for sure. Well….other then my own birthday. But really, it’s awesome. I especially love singing Christmas songs and giving gifts. I like to make other people happy!

That is why I’ve started the Pritteful Palette Christmas Sales! Every few days, I will be posting a new item that is up for “Christmas Sale”. If you are looking for a gift for someone, or maybe one for yourself (there’s nothing wrong with the one for me one for you concept in my mind) then you should make sure to check my Facebook Page for the latest updates. I will also try to post the updates on my blog for those of you who are RSS subscribers, but don’t have a Facebook.

Merry (early) Christmas!

Here are my latest Christmas deals:

]]> http://studiomiddle.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/painting-50-monhegan-harbor-summer-4-5-x-6-acrylic-on-canvas-paper/ Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:51:22 +0000 studio-middle http://studiomiddle.wordpress.com/2009/11/23/painting-50-monhegan-harbor-summer-4-5-x-6-acrylic-on-canvas-paper/

painting 50. Monhegan Harbor. summer 4.5 x 6 acrylic

I am on vacation this week and will be traveling for the holiday, so I took advantage of the time off yesterday and today to paint and post here.  I likely won’t be posting for the rest of this week as I’ll be traveling and with family.

This is another Monhegan painting, obviously, after a photo I took from my trip out there this summer.  I took this picture in the afternoon when I was waiting to take the ferry back to the mainland. The seagull was posing perfectly for the shot, I think .

The boats are represented much more realistically than I have produced them in other works, mainly because I spent more time on an initial sketch (in pencil) before dipping the brush in paint.  It’s hard to get into detail on these small compositions, but I think this one is right in the middle — not too close, not too far away from the subject matter — to alow for a nice representation.  The hill (Manana Island) posed some struggle for me, as I really wasn’t happy with the green and brown I was first working with to paint it in.  I then decided to heck with that ugly green and brown — I’ll throw in some purple!  I like this much better.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!

Somewhere in Newfoundland, July 1980. This was probably along the north coast of the island.

Hi, an introductory note is needed.
Conquest Charters is a boat based tourism company situated in Cape Town South Africa (home of the stadium to host FIFA World Cup 2010 matches).
We live in a beautiful city which has a rich maritime history. Now Conquest Charters offers unique high speed power boat rides along the coast line of the rugged Cape Peninsula. It has been described by those who fared the worst as the Cape of Storms and those set to gain from the riches in the east as the Cape of Good Hope. All in all our trip options allow for an ultimate experience.

This blogs serves as a diary of the adventures that we (and you) get up to on the Indian and Atlantic Ocean in Cape Town.

1. a tsunami
must i name what kind?

bulldozing in on glass bottle sea
antique shop colors
opaque and transparent

i felt you in my legs
before i ever met you

shore boats grabbed and splintering
foundation pulled out from houses
palm tree roots curled tight and
holding

me and the ocean
we share a vocabulary
endlessness
saline
assault

she offers herself
to the edges of continents
where land and water have agreed
upon this perpetual state
of forgiveness

she the original sequin
shines when angry
hurtling and collapsing hurtling and collapsing
at 600 miles per hour

2. something about home
something about erasure

3. the second to last letter
included photocopies
from an astrology book

fistfuls of wet earth
tossed on top of
the great collaboration

Photos of Killaloe in flood are now up. They were taken on the morning of 22 November 2009.

Here is the first of a number of pages showing the effects of the floods of November 2009 on the lower reaches of the River Shannon. This page shows Dromineer, on Lough Derg, on Saturday 21 November 2009, with water-levels well above normal.

Other pages will be added later.