Who Is Driving?

by Leo Timmers, Clavis Uitgeverij (translator)

Who is driving . . . the fire engine?
Elephant!
He is driving to the fire station .

From fire trucks to convertibles and snails to elephants, here's a book that's full of toddler favorites! Kids must solve the which animal is driving which vehicle? With bold illustrations full of funny details, kids will love reading―and playing―this simple guessing game again and again.

Genres: Picture Books, Storytime, Animals, Transport, Childrens, Cars, Juvenile

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Leo Timmers was born in 1970, in Belgium. Trained in Graphic Design he began to illustrate Children’s books. Gradually he started writing stories himself. In 2000 he received a Bookfeather Award for his illustrations in 'Happy with me'. He won the annual Children’s and Youth jury Award in both 2005 with ‘Just in time’ (written by Bart Demyttenaere) and 2006 with ‘Supermouse’.In 2007 he won with his picture book ‘Who is driving?' His books have been published in France, Spain, Norway, Finland, USA, Canada, Germany, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Korea, UK, Israel, Portugal, Germany and Japan. Leo also illustrates for magazines such as HUMO and various advertising agenciesOver the years his style has evolved, but it has always been marked by humour, form, colour, and incisive ideas. Leo lives in Brussels with his wife and two daughters.

Reviews

[Maddison Wood · Rating 4 out of 5]

I’m not sure that Jilly and Em (18 mo.) understand how to guess who’s driving which car, they never point at who they think it’s gonna be. Marg (4 yo.) gets it, although I think she just has it memorized at this point. Giving this one 4 stars instead of 5 because it comes across as a bit sexist that 2/3 of the women drivers are just driving fancy cars, convertibles, on their way to the tennis courts or whatever, while all the men get all variations of vehicles to go to the farm and the jungle and the racetrack. I’ve considered switching the genders, making the hippo or the pig a “she,” but Marg would notice and ask questions.

[Samhain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Also read with my 2yo nephew who found it hysterical but quite unrealistic: animals can't get a driving license therefore they shouldn't be allowed to drive such important vehicles 😂 (toddlers' reviews are the best reviews)

[Shally · Rating 4 out of 5]

great interactive book, but some of the pictures are awfully tricky. Especially when doing it for storytime

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun guess-ahead game, but it was a little advanced for my preschooler, who wasn't familiar with all the different uniforms that corresponded to the different vehicles.

[Casandria · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good for story time. A simple question and answer book.

[Mehsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kom mee en puzzel wie er in een auto rijdt in dit heerlijke boek!

Ik kon dit boekje niet laten liggen, ik was wel even verbaasd over het formaat. Ik had een gewone prentenboek verwacht, maar dit is een dik kartonnen boekje.

Er zijn verschillende wagens en het is aan de lezer om uit te vinden wie er in welke auto gaat rijden. Vaak is het heel simpel om te zien, al moet ik zeggen dat ik met een rijder toch even de verkeerde had. Ik had niet gedacht dat diegene in die auto zou passen. :P

Aan het einde komen alle auto’s samen en is er ook daar een klein puzzeltje, wie denk je dat er als eerste ergens zal aankomen?

Ik denk dat het erg leuk is voor kinderen om uit te vinden welk dier in welke auto gaat, en ook waarom ze denken dat het zo is. En dan heb je ook nog eens dat je kan praten met je kinderen of ze kunnen uitvinden wat voor voertuig de overgebleven dieren zouden rijden (want sommige hebben een duidelijk kostuum aan). Ook kun je vertellen of vragen of ze weten welk dier een zeker dier is.

De tekeningen, wel de wagens waren erg leuk gedaan, maar ik was niet zo’n fan van de dieren, ik vond ze een beetje vreemd (en in het Engels creepy) getekend.

Zeker een aanrader want je kunt alle kanten op met dit boek. Er is veel te doen naast het uitzoeken van de wagens + rijders.

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Mattie Maloy · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very good read along theme book. This book makes it easy for ur listener to predict things in the book and think they are reading along with you. This book could be a good relationship builder between an adult and child. Also this book could get kids interested in reading.

[Ms. Jeane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I ordered this book to read during my "Things that Go" storytime but sadly it came in about 5 days late. That's ok, it's still a very good book and maybe next time I do this theme I will get it on time. This book about work for earlier ages 0-3 really well.

[Juliana Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bright and colorful. Toddlers are asked who is driving each vehicle from race car to airplane. The answers on the next page range from funny and obvious. The snail drives the race car and the giraffe drives the convertible.

[Mama Bearian · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book doubles as a fun guessing game. There are four animals on each page, each dressed up and with different accessories. Which one is driving the vehicle shown? Littles will have fun noticing the details and guessing which animal goes with what vehicle.

[Preili Pipar · Rating 5 out of 5]

See raamat on tõesti tore. Igal lehel on küsimus miski sõiduki kohta ning tuleb siis loomadest tegelaste hulgast valida see õige, kes sobib sõidukiga kokku. Pildid on armsad ja taaskord loevad detailid. Ka laps õpib neid märkama ja erinevaid seoseid tekitama.

[Ann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Used this book for a cars/transportation storytime. Good for preschool and toddler. Cute animals and guessing game as to which animal is driving a particular vehicle. Our branch no longer has a hard copy but I was able to use a digital one.

[Kimberly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a fun one to use in storytime (5/23/17). The kiddos took good guesses and were not always right!

[BiblioBeruthiel · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is a nice little book, but I'm not personally crazy about it. It has hidden visual clues to identify who will be in what vehicle.

[Roben · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a fun book! Can you guess who is going to drive which vehicle? We read this for our voyage themed storytime and the kids loved it.

[Elena Maddox · Rating 3 out of 5]

Okay for lap reading. Not great for storytime. Good for babies or toddlers

[Milton Louie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Guess which animal is driving. B

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun book for our Music & Movement Storytime. Kids loved guessing which animal would be driving.

[Anishka Maia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anishka loves this book especially the sounds each vehicle makes. I did not make her guess who drives the vehicle yet as the animals wear costumes so it is hard to recognize them at first glance.

[Robert Marsh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wheeeeeeeee!

[Loni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is awesome.

[Sherry Scheline · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderful read. The students loved guessing which animal and vehicle was coming next. They also loved making the sounds.

[Stéphanie S. (stephsimlibrarian) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Livre devinettes

[Joella · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun picture book about who is driving various modes of transportation (mostly cars). In each query there is asked "Who is driving _______?" Things like a fire truck or a convertible or whatnot. When the question is asked there are four different animals that are holding keys that could be on their way to drive that particular vehicle. But only one has a clue that fits who would be driving that. For example only the elephant is wearing the fireman's outfit so really he is the one who would drive the fire truck. Then the reader turns the page and sees who is driving the vehicles.

This is a brilliant book! Not only does it have great illustrations, there is a fun interactive element for readers to actually think and find out who is driving what. And there are always good clues as to who it might be. This is a good example of thought process and prediction that are both skills good readers need to develop--but this is in a picture book! Huzzah for good picture books! Seriously, this is a keeper for reading aloud in storytime. And how often do you find brilliant truck books? They are a hot commodity!

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interactive-style story asks the reader to guess which animal is driving each vehicle based on their clothes, etc. The text is very simple, leaving the parent/child to discuss the options. Sometimes this is tricky -- like when I couldn't identify whch animal a drawing was supposed to represent. Still, I enjoyed it even though I'm usually not a fan of this kind of book. The illustrations are part of what makes it work: they're a cute & very detailed cartoony style. The vehicle sound effects are a hit with the kiddos, too. Fun, and probably a good matching exercise for the right age of child.

[Lindsay · Rating 4 out of 5]

I used this book for bilingual story time as a participation story. I asked the kids who they thought was going to drive the said vehicle, and then on the next page, I had them yell out "who" was actually driving. I also made the sounds that each vehicle makes (the sound is provided, which makes it easier) and had the kids try to make the sounds, too. It's a very simple book, but it's fun. It is also very bright and cheerful-looking.

[Becky B · Rating 4 out of 5]

Readers are asked on alternating spreads "Who's driving the..." and if your very observant you can match the outfit to the transportation. Of course, answers get checked on the next page spread.

This is a fun book to use when having children test their observation skills, predicting skills, when talking about onomatopoeia (the vehicles each make a different sound), transportation, or for career day as it highlights a variety of occupations.

[Drew Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are lots of vehicles ready to go, but who's the driver for each one?

This is a fun idea but the art style is off-putting to me (random example that comes to mind: the hippo's weird periscope nostrils). I know it's a personal preference sort of thing and it's not like revolting, but still it just makes me less inclined to pick it up on repeated occasions. It does (mostly) amuse me how The Boy (3.5) guesses the wrong driver I'm pretty sure on purpose.

[jacky · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was read at story time today. I thought the idea was good and I liked how it wasn't overly simple. For example, the driver of the fire truck was easy to pick out, but not so much the driver of the convertible, limo, or tractor. I also liked the variety in vehicles. We weren't very close so I didn't see the illustrations very well.

[Katy Houseman · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is fun for children who like solving puzzles and like vehicles/planes. In this book children will read along and try to figure out which animal will ride in which vehicle/plane. Children will use critical thinking skills and predicting to come up with their own idea of which animal will drive what.