Motor Miles

by John Burningham, John Burningham (Illustrator)

Overview

Miles is a difficult dog, until he gets his own car. . . . From picture book master John Burningham comes a delightful new story.

Miles does not come when he is called. He does not like going for walks, his food, other dogs, or the rain. What Miles does like is going for drives in the car. So when Mr. Huddy makes Miles a car of his own, Miles becomes a much happier dog. And now he and his friend Norman can go on all sorts of adventures! Inspired by his own dog, Miles, renowned children’s book author and illustrator John Burningham (who celebrated his eightieth birthday this year) creates a new picture book offering all the charm and exuberance of his best work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763690649
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	09/06/2016
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.60(w) x 11.10(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

John Burningham (1936-2019) was one of the world’s most recognized and beloved illustrators. His work has received countless awards, including a Boston Globe–Horn Book honor for It’s a Secret! and two Kate Greenaway Medals. Over his fifty-year career, John Burningham wrote and illustrated more than thirty picture books, including Picnic, Motor Miles, and Mouse House. He and his wife, Helen Oxenbury, had three children.

Editorial Reviews

06/20/2016
A little autonomy goes a long way in Burningham’s (The Way to the Zoo) story about a “difficult” dog named Miles. Much to the chagrin of Alice Trudge and her son, Norman, their dog Miles “did not come when he was called, did not like going for walks, and did not like his food.” What he does like is riding in the passenger seat of Alice’s car to a local cafe, where he sits at the table as other patrons admire him. Observing that Miles revels in these road trips, neighbor Mr. Huddy builds the dog a sporty red convertible that Miles and Norman use to “go on secret little trips,” with a confident Miles behind the wheel. Miles’s newfound freedom gives him a brighter outlook on life, and when Norman outgrows the roadster Mr. Huddy heads back to the workshop to help the pair take their travels to the next level. Burningham’s matter-of-fact text and blithely inked illustrations embrace the comedy of the premise while capturing the close-knit relationship between boy and dog—especially when they’re tooling across an empty beach at sunrise. Ages 3–7. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

From Burningham's first droll lines paired with his expressively simple illustration, readers will know they are in for a rare treat—a book whose strong substance and story eschew gimmick and gloss and whose mastery of visual and narrative understatement shines throughout...No one does whimsy like Burningham; no one.
—Kirkus Reviews (starred review)

The matter-of-fact narration makes the story of a car-driving dog entirely believable. The watercolor, pen, and pastel illustrations perfectly capture Miles’s postures and expressions to reveal his opinions and emotions. The spreads of the two friends traveling through panoramas of the four seasons underscore their joy and camaraderie. This whimsical tale of friendship will delight Burningham fans and deserves serious consideration for a place in most collections.
—School Library Journal (starred review)

That master of picture book fantasies involving vehicles, children, and animals (Mr. Gumpy’s Outing, rev. 2/72; Mr. Gumpy’s Motor Car, rev. 8/76) returns, to utterly endearing effect...As always, Burningham controls pacing through a mix of vignettes, full-page illustrations, and double-page spreads; his pen-and-ink and watercolor drawings, in all their skillful lack of polish, are maximally expressive. A paean to difficult dogs and their owners, everywhere.
—Horn Book

Burningham’s matter-of-fact text and blithely inked illustrations embrace the comedy of the premise while capturing the close-knit relationship between boy and dog—especially when they’re tooling across an empty beach at sunrise.
—Publishers Weekly

Burningham has created another hilarious story for kids that will energize their imaginations and have them wondering, "what if?"
—Reading Eagle (syndicated from Kendal Rautzhan)

It’s terrifically absurd – and thrilling...In looking back on the year 2016 in picture books, I know I will remember Norman’s hair flying in the breeze, as Miles drives him down the shore.
—Kirkus Reviews (blog)

From the Publisher

★ 08/01/2016
PreS-Gr 2—After Alice Trudge and her son Norman give Miles a home, they realize he is a difficult dog. Miles doesn't like walks, other dogs, or much of anything except car rides. The next-door neighbor solves the problem by building the pup his own car. Once Miles masters driving, he takes Norman to school and on trips in the countryside. In fact, Miles's whole attitude improves. When Norman grows too big for the car, Miles stops driving. Adventures seem to be over until Norman and Miles discover their neighbor's new building project: an airplane. The matter-of-fact narration makes the story of a car-driving dog entirely believable. The watercolor, pen, and pastel illustrations perfectly capture Miles's postures and expressions to reveal his opinions and emotions. The spreads of the two friends traveling through panoramas of the four seasons underscore their joy and camaraderie. VERDICT This whimsical tale of friendship will delight Burningham fans and deserves serious consideration for a place in most collections.—Kathy Piehl, Minnesota State University Library, Mankato

School Library Journal

★ 2016-06-22
Miles, a dog, learns to drive his own car, and everything changes.From Burningham's first droll lines paired with his expressively simple illustration, readers will know they are in for a rare treat—a book whose strong substance and story eschew gimmick and gloss and whose mastery of visual and narrative understatement shines throughout. Miles, the dog protagonist, is a difficult dog to live with, only enjoying trips "in the car up the hill to the café." Miles' owner, Alice Trudge, cannot be spending her days driving Miles to the café, so her neighbor, Mr. Huddy, offers to build Miles his own car. In a hilarious sequence of vignettes, Miles learns to drive, and after he has mastered it, Miles and Norman, Alice Trudge's son, begin to take secret trips—to the ocean in early morning, through leaves in autumn, out in the countryside. It is hard to overstate the sheer aliveness with which Burningham, in a few artful pen, pastel, and watercolor strokes, manages to imbue his characters; Miles and Norman fairly brim with whimsical life. Miles becomes a happier, less difficult dog even after he gives up driving when Norman outgrows the small, dog-sized car—but Mr. Huddy may have another surprise in store for the two. The named human characters are all white, but they inhabit a multiracial world. No one does whimsy like Burningham; no one. (Picture book. 2-6)

Kirkus Reviews