Beep! Beep!

“Beep! Beep!” honks the bus. “Toot! Toot!” pipes the tugboat. “Swoosh! Swoosh!” spins the flying saucer. Based on the Parents' Choice award-winning 1999 picture book Beep! Beep!, written by Anne Miranda and vibrantly illustrated by David Murphy, this iconographic animated adaptation--winsomely narrated by Debra Leigh--is a colorful paean to modern transportation (both terrestrial and extraterrestrial). The very simple story features an imaginative young boy and his pet cat playing with toy vehicles and adding sound effects for trains, planes, and automobiles, as well as submarines, motorcycles, tanks, and more. Although rather slight in a narrative or educational sense, this is definitely a fun watch thanks to the light and bouncy approach and the brightly colored artwork. Recommended. Aud: K, P. (R. Pitman)