In Toot Toot Zoom! Phyllis Root uses different fonts and punctuation marks to indicate the different emotions on each page of the story. The illustrator of the book, Matthew Cordell, illustrates the book on some pages by drawing the pictures vertically instead of horizontally which makes you flip the book. Matthew Cordell illustrates the long road the animals are traveling on around the mountain. This was a very cute book and I liked how the emotions really came to life on the pages. ( )

Pierre lived all by himself at the foot of a tall mountain and what he wanted more than anything else was a friend. So he got into his little red convertible and began driving up the mountain. At every curve he would honk his horn, “Toot toot zoom!” On his journey to find a friend on the other side of the mountain, he meets a goat, a sheep, and a bear. The animals join him in the car to help him find a friend. When they finally reach the other side there’s no one there, but Pierre realizes he has found three wonderful friends along the way.

Root’s text, full of sounds and repetition, is mostly dialogue, making this a great read aloud book about friendship. The watercolor and ink illustrations are sunny and light. The characters are whimsical; Pierre is a fox who wears a jaunty blue and white striped shirt and beret, while the bear sports a yellow scarf and earrings. The layout of the book is attractive; sometimes the little red car simply drives through the text, at other times the text is layered over a full page illustration.

Full Review at Picture-Book-a-Day: http://picturebookaday.blogspot.com/2012/06/book-180-toot-toot-zoom-by-phyllis-r...