< Board Books
WHEELS!
Support developing literacy with Wheels!, uniquely designed to help families establish reading habits from an early age.
The fifth installment of the DR Books series, Wheels! - a fun riff on the iconic “Wheels on the Bus” - is designed to help families establish reading habits from an early age. Questions within the book provide a built-in tool for grown-ups to engage in "dialogic reading" with children, inviting them to actively participate in the story and relate it to their own lives—an excellent way to promote early literacy skills. Start reading and learning today with Wheels!
What is dialogic reading?
Dialogic reading is reading aloud in a way that invites the child to actively participate in the story and relate it to his or her life. Some families read naturally in a dialogic way (pausing to ask questions and expand, etc.), but many do not. Bugs! makes it easy to practice this technique at home.
Dialogic reading looks like this:
Introduce the book to build interest.
CROWD Prompts
Completion (“The wheels on the bus go round and _____.”)
Recall (“Did you just see a bus? Cool! What color was it?”)
Open-Ended questions (“Where do buses go?”)
Wh- Questions (“Where is that yellow bus going?”)
Distancing (“What’s your favorite thing with wheels?”)
PEER Sequence
Prompt (“How many wheels does a car have?”)
Evaluate (“Yes, four!”)
Expand (“Four round wheels!”)
Repeat (“Let’s say, ‘Cars have four round wheels!'”)
Discuss the book after reading to maintain interest—and build interest in the next book!
Publication Information
List Price: $7.99
ISBN: 979-8988638261
Publication Date: September 2025
Format: Board book
Dimensions: 5.5" x 5.5"
Page Count: 14
Ages: 0-3
Buy Wheels!
Families and individuals can purchase blue manatee press books at many independent bookstores around the United States, so shop local and support small businesses by checking out the stores in your area or shop using the Indiebound or Bookshop buttons below! You can also purchase this book online through Amazon, Barns & Noble, or Indigo (CA) buttons below.
Shop Local
You can help support local and independent bookstores by purchasing blue manatee press books from Indiebound or Bookshop. Simply click either of the buttons below, and search by book or by location!
Shop Online
blue manatee press books are distributed by IPG and available at most major retail locations such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Indigo (Canada).
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About the Author:
Dr. John Hutton is an author whose work is inspired by experiences as a parent (3 daughters, 1 grandson), pediatrician, researcher and children’s bookstore owner (Blue Manatee, 2001-2019). He is an internationally known expert in exploring relationships between home reading and screen time environments on brain structure and function in preschool-age children using MRI. He is also an innovator in developing and testing children’s books for parenting and child health promotion, including reading with babies (SHARE/STEP method) and dialogic reading (DR Books). He lives with his wife near a lake in Dallas with intermittent, welcome visits from children, pets and critters.
About the Illustrator:
Doug Cenko is an illustrator living in Chicago, IL. He has worked at an animation studio, a live special effects company and design agencies, but illustration is what he truly loves to do. When he’s not drawing, you can find him (or better yet, not find him) mastering the art of hide-and-seek with his wife and daughter.