Traveling With Ooga Booga On Airplanes; Traveling With Ooga Booga On Trains; Traveling With Ooga Booga On Trucks

Ooga Booga, Plotnik (named after former American Libraries editor Art Plotnik), and Fewster are a trio of aliens from the planet Quirky Corky who've arrived on planet Earth and hooked up with a 12-year-old boy named Matt who teaches the aliens a thing or two about trains, planes, and trucks. Created by the Library Video Network, a consortium of Maryland public libraries, each of the tapes in the Traveling With Ooga Booga series focuses on a particular mode of transportation and, of course, works in a nice reference to finding more information at the local library. In the episode on planes, the aliens get a chance to see the different types of planes, the inside of a cockpit, a radar screen in an air traffic control tower, and a part-by-part description of an airplane. In the trains episode, viewers learn about the various kinds of trains and meet the engineer and conductor as well as visit the dining and sleeping cars. The tour also includes those lovable underground trains we call subways. The trucks episode follows a Grace company truck (for promotional purposes read "Baker & Taylor") as it delivers books to the library. Other trucks profiled include: tow trucks, trash trucks, cement trucks, and the good old book truck (a. k. a. the bookmobile). The trucks tape also features a segment with a fruit and vegetable truck driver named Ann, who shows young girl viewers that truck driving is not just a job for boys. Catchy tunes, witty writing, interesting stories, and low pricing make the Traveling With Ooga Booga series a welcome addition. Highly recommended. (Available from: ALA Video/Library Video Network, 320 York Road, Towson, MD 21204-5179; (800) 441-TAPE.)