In Celebration of the 100th Anniversary of Route 66

I have a three-year-old nephew who loves playing with cars. Sometimes we build roads out of Jenga blocks; other times we use a rug or the floor for discovering "road" speed and texture. To highlight the joy of cars cruising and in celebration of the anniversary of Route 66 – which starts right here in Chicago – I wanted to share some books for kids about construction and road trips.

Construction Site: Join the “Road-Building crew” to create a superhighway mega road in the hot desert. With bright cartoonish illustrations and rhyming text, we see that every vehicle has a job, such as the Grader, who is “leveling each bump and groove, she leaves the surface flat and smooth,” and Crane, who hangs the signs. At the end, a lone coyote walks under the bridge, reminding us that animals need paths for traveling and, thankfully, modern road builders are being more intentional to make sure there’s some extra space for animals to migrate and move safely our shared lands. 

Roadwork (also available in Spanish Construir una carretera): See and hear all the excitement and loud noises that go along with planning and building a road. (“Screech! Boom! Whoosh!”) Dirt gets scooped up and moved away; the ground is packed; and then the hot sticky star is sealed. We even get to see the workers stop for lunch (also noisy with a “Gulp! Slurp! Crunch!”) Signs are hung, lights are assembled and lit, trees are planted and the work is done. This very exciting read-aloud has fun facts at the end about each machine.  

My Bicentennial Summer: G. Neri is a Printz Award Winner and Coretta Scott King Author Award Honoree who is incredibly humble, funny and talented. I especially enjoyed this new “scrapbook” style story, which begins close to the 200th birthday of America on an epic family road trip along interstate 80. We learn about American’s fight for independence, historical landmarks, natural wonders, great cities (like Chicago), plus American eagles and rattlesnake in a can! It's clear by the end that our country and the people who live here are connected by much more than roads and, even if we disagree, democracy is worth fighting for! 

The Big Dig: This more advanced informational book features full-color photographs and the fascinating story of the Big Dig, otherwise known as Boston's Central Artery/Tunnel Project. Created to solve massive traffic problems, the Big Dig project took 20 years to complete - and that included two years dedicated solely to removing mud and rock from the Boston Harbor - before tunnels and bridges could even be constructed. We learn about complications, problem-solving and machinery, making it clear that making a huge city change takes patience and persistence. 

Wishing you all happy reading and safe travels! Also, check out markers for the start of Route 66 in central downtown near Michigan Avenue, as highlighted in the photo above.