Transported: 50 Vehicles That Changed the World

by Matt Ralphs, Rui Ricardo (Illustrations)

A fascinating book about the vehicles that have shaped our world, written by narrowboat captain and children’s author Matt Ralphs, with stunning color illustrations on every page by Rui Ricardo.

From ancient chariots and Viking longships to racing cars, rockets, and solar-powered airplanes, our world has been changed by the pioneering development of many incredible vehicles. Take a journey through time to discover how these 50 groundbreaking inventions changed the world and how they might even shape our future . . .

Genres: Nonfiction, Childrens

112 pages, Hardcover

Published October 3, 2023

Reviews

[Kailey (Luminous Libro) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book gives information about 50 amazing vehicles, including boats, cars, planes, motorcycles, chariots, wagons, rockets, and bicycles. It's really amazing to see how history has changed over the centuries and especially in the last one hundred years just because of mankind's ability to travel.

I love the beautiful illustrations and attractive page layouts! The information is given in little bite-sized paragraphs, making it easy to read quickly. I was so interested in all the factoids and anecdotes from history! It was really inspiring to read about these inventors who took risks and tried new things and broke barriers to create a new form of travel for their era.

There is one place at the end though where the book talks about how we need more electric cars because they are supposedly better than fossil fuel. But they forget to mention that most electricity comes from burning coal, so it's not really that much better. It seems like they could have given a little more information about electric cars to cover all the facts, instead of making it seem like electric cars are the perfect solution to all the world's environmental problems. The issue isn't that simple, and they left out a lot of information.


Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher/author in exchange for a free and honest review. All the opinions stated here are my own true thoughts, and are not influenced by anyone.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

Copy provided by Young Adult Books Central

This large format picture book illustrates a huge range of types of transportation, from Bronze Age wagons and Viking Longships to the Mars Rover and Solar-powered airplanes. Each item gets a lushly illustrated two-page spread, with scattered text boxes detailed different aspects of the vehicles. Each has a "facts and stats" box that includes the people who used them, the top speed, and often approximate dimensions. There's also a short discussion about how the particular vehicle changed the world. Some entries, like the Tea Clipper, show a very particular example, and give details about that item, like the Cutty Sark. Individual items also have the years active, such as the Lotus 49 Formula One Racing Car or the Peterbilt 379 Truck. There's a fantastic glossary at the end of the book, and a helpful index.

The illustrations are fantastic and look like art that could be hung on the walls, but since they all consist of two pages, there's no way to take them out and frame them. There are plenty of details in the backgrounds, and I love that the Saturn rocket, because it is so tall, is presented in a way that makes it necessary to turn the book sideways! There's plenty of fun facts on every page.

While younger readers will enjoy looking at the pictures, this is also packed full of information for older students who are researching, or who just love transportation trivia!

Young transportation enthusiasts will enjoy this book after they read Dussaussois' Ultimate Spotlight: Cars, Sodomka's Means of Transport, Muguet's Do You Know?: Boats and other Water Transports, and Faber's Special Delivery: A Book's Journey, that shows how many of these means of transport are used in getting a product to consumers.

[D · Rating 5 out of 5]

Good book for kids and adults, but beware small dark type on dark backgrounds.

[Logan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book I am writing about is Transported: 50 Vehicles That Changed the World. I liked this book a lot. It starts off with ancient inventions such as the horse and chariot and Viking ships. The layout of the information is good, with facts and numbers and statistics, with mostly good opinions. The book was written very recently, so it features modern machines as well. I really like the section about how the invention changed the world effectively. One thing I wish that the author would do is a book on future machines, and how they probably will change the world. Overall it was very informative and is an excellent book that I enjoyed and would recommend.

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! I learned so many interesting facts. I look at the different modes of transportation around me with a new appreciation.