Wake Up Engines

by Denise Dowling Mortensen, Melissa Iwai (Illustrator)

From the creators of the luminous GOOD NIGHT ENGINES comes an energetic good-morning book filled with short, rhyming text that fairly bounces off the page, lots of onomatopoeia, and bright, vibrant close-ups of all kinds of vehicles and aircraft. School buses, garbage trucks, street sweepers, helicopters, and more crank up their noisy motors as a little boy climbs out of bed and starts his day. No little engine lover should be without a copy of this winsome book, as dynamic and peppy as its companion was soothing and sleepy.

Genres: Picture Books, Transport, Childrens, Storytime, Fiction

32 pages, Hardcover

First published July 16, 2007

About the author

Denise Dowling Mortensen is the author of five picture books: Good Night Engines, Wake Up Engines, a board book/flip book of both Good Night Engines and Wake Up Engines, Ohio Thunder and Bug Patrol (all published by HMHCO). While listening to bedtime stories as a young girl she developed a passion for words, especially lyrical verse.

She studied Journalism in college and went on to work at CBS News and the Conde Nast Publications. While raising her five children, she freelanced as a copy editor and proofreader. When her youngest child was a baby, she began writing books for young children.

Now, when she's not writing, reading, painting, drawing, eating ice cream, or traveling, she works as a special education assistant in the district office of a local public school district. She lives in a suburb of Chicago.

Reviews

[Jo Oehrlein · Rating 3 out of 5]

A child wakes up in the morning. We see the city waking up with all the various trucks and planes getting their start, too. Things parallel the morning activities in the house -- a street sweeper goes with brushing teeth, for example.

Pair with Good Night Engines

[Kevin McNally · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought this book was entertaining and I think that I would have enjoyed reading this as a child. I was fascinated by big vehicles and cars when I was young. The artwork is good and colorful, which is perfect for children. Overall I find this book to be an adorable read and would recommend it for children.

[Bonn · Rating 2 out of 5]

Loved the variety of vehicles. Pretty cute. Kinda boring for me tbh

[J · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book about vehicles, both toy versions of them and the real thing, as a little boy and the city he's in get ready for the day.

[Emily Jones · Rating 3 out of 5]

A bit boring, but children in storytime actually seemed to enjoy it.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ages 2 and up. An ode to love of things with wheels shared by so many preschoolers, featuring an Asian child as the protagonist. A companion book to Good Night Engines.

[Nikki · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was ok.

But my star rating is gauged on my kids' reactions while reading the book. After I read the book, and moved on to another story for my 3yr old, my 2yr old, picked this book back up and continued looking through the pages for another 10-15 mins, totally ignoring the other 2 bedtime stories.

Boys who love trucks, cars, garbage trucks, buses, helicopters, airplanes, will enjoy this book.
We ad-libbed some areas of the book too.

The illustrations were great, according to my 2yr old.

[Erin Buhr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was written for any child who spends their days surrounded by tiny vehicles. For our son who drives his trains across the sink and for our daughter who lines up tiny cars next to her dollhouse. Both this delightful good morning book and Mortensen's Good Night Engines, tell the parallel story of a little boy playing with his toys and real life vehicles. For example, in Wake Up Engines, the little boy brushes his teeth, truck in hand, while a street sweeper prepares the roads outside. Creative storytelling, great language usage, and fun illustrations. This is a favorite in our home.

[Asho · Rating 4 out of 5]

I let my 2 1/2-year-old son pick out all of his own library books on our most recent trip, and he managed to zero in on this book. He loves all forms of transportation, so I'm not surprised. We just brought this home yesterday and have read it three times already.
I like this one, too. The illustrations are pleasant, and there are neat details. I also think it's cute that each part of the child's routine is somehow linked to an engine at work (the street sweeper coordinates with toothbrushing, etc.).

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I like this one probably best of the "Toys translate into the real world" books because I think its a bit easier to follow. They show the child pretending his tooth brush is a street sweeper, then they show a street sweeper. Definitely a better plan for kids, because they want to see trucks in the "real" world, not just toys.

[Paula · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book for story time with rhyme and pictures of trucks in play and in real life
Rhyming verses describe the sights and sounds of morning traffic as cars, trucks, and airplanes rev up their engines and go!

[Naomi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I could see this book definitely being for kids who love anything with an engine like my son did when he was this book's targeted age. Also a great way to introduce them to new engines and what they are attached to.

[Alia · Rating 3 out of 5]

The short rhyming text and bright illustrations make this one a good story-time read.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cheerful offering for the vehicle-obsessed. Children will be pleased to note the way the toy planes and trucks on one page turn into the real deal on the next.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rhyming sentences describe a variety of vehicles. Perfect for toddlers and pre-schoolers. Nice illustrations. Good for story time.

[Azkamalazka]

hah funny

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cute morning routine in neighborhood packed with houses. Traffic helicopter and report may be familiar to little commuters. Mom & son have straight dark hair.

[Cindi · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked Goodnight Engines slightly better than Wake Up Engines, but it was a good little boy book!

[Christopher · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice, easy kids books with pretty, bold pictures and vehicle noises and sounds.