The Way Cool License Plate Book

by Leonard Wise

Overview

Everywhere you go you see vanity plates. The best of them are those that make you think and then reward you with a good laugh. Now there is a book that captures all the fun and excitement of vanity plates from across North America.

Inside The Way Cool License Plate Book you'll find plates that show how their owners feel about the cars they drive (or wish they drove!), the work they do, the sports they play and the dreams they have.

This book is the perfect companion for any vacation or road trip. Parents will be happy knowing that the games in this book strengthen math and reading skills as well as provide hours of fun. Kids will enjoy spotting plates from across the country and reading the hundreds of vanity plates inside. Categories of vanity plates include:

• Cars
• The work we do
• Sports
• Animals
• Places
• Music
• PL8 fun

and there are 8 pages of games for car trips.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781770853836
Publisher:	Firefly Books, Limited
Publication date:	09/07/2002
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	64
File size:	29 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	6 - 8 Years

About the Author

Leonard Wise has authored several books on Toronto including Toronto Street Names, Toronto Eats, More Toronto Eats and Making Out in Toronto. He has also been a columnist for the Toronto Star where he wrote about food specialty items. A lawyer, Leonard first turned to writing in 1970. Leonard and his wife live in Toronto.

Table of Contents

Introduction

History

Games

Occupations

Animals

Car Terms

Exclamations

Sports Terms

Sayings

Preface

Introduction

Most people know that the word vain means to be conceited. The word vanity means being vain -- having too much pride in your appearance. These days, that word is connected not just to people. A personalized license plate -- the kind that people pay extra money for-is called a "vanity plate."

Next time you're out for a drive or walking through a parking lot, check out the vehicles around you. Many of them have vanity plates. While most people still settle for ordinary, everyday plates, there are lots of folks who like to get personal with their cars.

For many people, a vanity plate is an extension of their personality. Quieter types may have a plate that shows only their name, nickname or initials. People who are less shy could have plates that express their love for their car, profession, partner, pet or favorite hobby or sport. A vanity plate can show a person's playful side, mood or favorite saying, or it may be a friendly greeting. Outspoken types prefer to say something funny, trendy or cool, or to use their plates as a chance to brag.

Then again, there are some people who put on messages that are just plain crazy. For example, on one VW Beetle, the plate said BOBS MG. When someone commented to the owner that the car wasn't an MG, the man replied, "I'm not Bob." Go figure!

The possibilities are limited only by a person's imagination and creativity. By dropping vowels or consonants, and using numbers in place of whole words or parts of them, people can get their point across with very few letters. For example, 2L8 2W8 = too late to wait. And 4U2NV = for you to envy. Get the idea? You can put most words on a plate, as long as you follow the government's rules.

The pages of this book are filled with a fun and fascinating look at some of the endless possibilities for vanity plates. Have a good time decoding them. But this isn't just a book of license plate pictures. There's also a brief history of the use of license plates -- plus lots of way cool facts.

Need something to do on your next long car trip? Try out the great license plate games in this book. You'll be at your destination before you have a chance to ask, "Are we there yet?"

There are hours and hours of entertainment in The Way Cool License Plate Book. JST4U. HVFUN.

Editorial Reviews

This book has FN 4 KDS written all over it.
—Quill and Quire

Paul Challen

Just right for holiday road trips, the paper-over-board The Way Cool License Plate Book by Leonard Wise presents traveling games ("Picture This" challenges players to find license plates with symbols or pictures) and more than 400 amusing-and revealing-vanity plates organized by subjects such as occupations, animals and car terms (can you guess what kind of vehicle has the "4RD TRK" plate?). A brief history of the license plate kicks off the volume; "Plate Facts" sidebars offer license plate trivia throughout. Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 4 Up-This title can provide several hours of fun for the whole family. The introduction explains what vanity license plates are and how to read them. A short history discusses the origin of license plates, the various kinds of materials that have been used to manufacture them, and collecting as a hobby, followed by six pages of directions for various license-plates-related games that can be played while traveling. The main body of the text is a collection of vanity plates from all of the Canadian provinces and the U.S., arranged by such categories as occupations, animals, sport terms, etc. The average page contains colorful reproductions of eight plates, though many have as few as five to accommodate road signs, drawings, and/or "blank plates" that feature trivia. Each reproduction is accompanied by a clue to help readers decipher the tag's message. Accuracy as to the correct design and colors of some of the illustrations might be questioned; e.g., the design shown for the Kansas plates was the standard one for that era, not the vanity motif that was actually used. This, however, neither changes nor damages the potential appeal of the book for readers who enjoy the challenge of deciphering codes. This is one of those titles that libraries should have "just because."-Eldon Younce, Harper Elementary School, KS Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

School Library Journal

This book has FN 4 KDS written all over it.

Quill and Quire - Paul Challen

An appealing book of games and facts ... a unique addition to a juvenile collection of books dealing with games.

Resource Links - Evette Signarowski

The Way Cool License Plate Book is a quick, fun read, and along the way youngsters and adults will pick up bits of information too.... Although The Way Cool License Plate Book will principally be a book for recreational reading, teachers could use it for curricular purposes as well. For example, an English or History teacher might share some of the book's vanity plates and then ask her/his students to create the vanity plates that would belong to fictional characters from literature or real historical figures. Recommended.

Canadian Materials for Librarians - Dave Jenkinson

Hours of fun for the whole family ... This is one of those titles that libraries should have "just because."

School Library Jouranl - Eldon Younce