Reviews of Wake Up Engines

“Brimming with tantalizing motor sounds… this will get young ones’ mornings off to a zippy start.”
–Kirkus Revews

Reviews of Ohio Thunder

“An effective read-aloud to spark discussions about weather or ways to deal with storms and the fears they might evoke.” —School Library Journal

“Good for reading aloud, this fine picture book chronicles the passage of a powerful storm in words and pictures that create a mood as well as describe events… The artwork as a whole is as evocative as the verse, and the illustrations of the landscape and stormy sky are compelling.” —Booklist

Reviews for Good Night Engines

"The unforced rhyme beautifully expresses both the rush of wheels and then the hush as they come 'Grinding. Stopping. Resting.' … Pair this with Margaret Wise Brown's classic Good Night, Moon." —Hazel Rochman, Booklist

"Playing to kids' perennial fascination with vehicles, this bedtime book—Mortensen's debut—uses truncated rhyming verse to describe how a train, 18-wheel truck, fire engine, etc., slow down at the end of the day. 'Jumbo jet plane/ cleared to land./ Downward, roaring/turbofan./ Wheels on runway in a rush./ Grinding. Stopping. Resting./ Hush.' …This sweet book will help motor-happy readers to put their own engines in idle." —Publishers Weekly, November 3, 2003

"Told in rhyme, the story is as smooth and easy as a familiar lullaby… Iwai's acrylic, full-page spreads match the quiet text. Dominant colors reflect the shifting light, so that the pinks and oranges of the early pages give way to deeper purples and blues by the book's end… Children will relate to this depiction of this end-of-day ritual, and the book is sure to appeal to kids who love big rigs." —School Library Journal, December 2003

"For kids whose first utterances were 'Mama,' 'Dada,' and 'Vroom'—not necessarily in that order—here’s the perfect way to downshift at night. The book's scenes alternate between a bedroom, where a boy plays with his trucks, planes, and trains one last time, and the world outside, where real vehicles shut down for the day. Gentle rhymes also celebrate the marvel of transportation while helping its devotees switch off and go to bed." —Julia Yates Walton, Child Magazine, November 2003

Books

Learn more about my books below. To order a book from your local independant bookstore through Indiebound.com, click the link next to the book.

GOOD NIGHT ENGINES/WAKE UP ENGINES

Flip Padded Board Book
Clarion Books
For ages up to 3
List Price: $8.99
ISBN: 9780547510767

Order from Indiebound

Summary:

Two kid's-eye-view tales about what different kinds of engines do all day"--"and night"--"are now combined in one book! Toddlers will love this innovative format with its tear-proof cardstock pages and soft, padded cover. When they've finished identifying all the cars, trucks, planes, and trains in one story, they can flip the book over to read the other!

WAKE UP ENGINES

Clarion Books, 2007
For ages: 2-6
List price: $16.00
ISBN: 0618517367

Order from Indiebound

Summary:

This lyrical, rhyming verse is the flip-side to Good Night Engines! In it, a small boy starts his day at the same time as many big engines—including a garbage truck, street sweeper, school bus, and plane—warm up and begin theirs. Melissa Iwai’s dramatic perspectives alternate between the boy’s toys and the life-size engines in the outside world. For engine lovers of all ages!

Ohio Thunder

Clarion Books, 2006
For ages: 2-6
List price: $16.00
ISBN: 9780618595426

Order from Indiebound

Summary:

"ZAP!
One hundred million volts.
Cloud to ground
Advancing bolts."

Thunderstorms in the Midwest come on hard and fast. Vast stretches of farmland make a perfect backdrop for remarkable displays of lightning against dramatically darkened skies—an awe-inspiring sight. Here, Denise Dowling Mortensen’s lyrical verse and stunning paintings by Kate Kiesler work together to vividly and memorably bring the speed and drama of a flash storm on an Ohio farm to life.

GOOD NIGHT ENGINES

Clarion Books, 2003
For ages: 2-6
List price: $14.95
ISBN: 0-618-13537-5

Order from Indiebound

Awards and Distinctions:

Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award, 2004
Child Magazine "Best New Stories to Inspire Young Minds," Nov. 2003
Newark Star-Ledger: Best Holiday Books 2004

Summary:

"Locomotive
Whistle whine.
Engine thunders
Down the line."

In a cozy room, as the evening sky grows dark, a child plays with his trains and planes and trucks one last time before bed. In the outside world, big engines are also winding down for the night, their long day of work complete.

Lyrical verse and vivid pictures of vehicles large and small make for a soothing and satisfying bedtime story perfect for young engine lovers everywhere.