Although Charlie seems to be calling all the shots, this is a positive nod to creative make-believe. (Picture book. 3-5)
When a cardboard box becomes an imaginary car, Charlie takes Mama to see the town.
Role-playing takes the front seat when Mama is Charlie’s first passenger. “Buckle up, Mama!” he says, and she obeys every word. With a wide smile, this little white boy with pink cheeks tours the house with his mother, both pretending it is the town. The bookshelf becomes the library, the closet becomes Daisy’s Dress Shop, and the kitchen table serves as Charlie’s Diner. The toddler’s narration gives a precise script for each particular stop: “I say ‘I can’t wait to see the new books.’ And you say, ‘I’m going to take home three!’ ” The softly colored illustrations show the gleeful mother-son pair exploring every inch of the house in the cardboard car. The comfortable home and its familiar furnishings are transformed by Charlie’s conversations into a setting for modest adventures that mimic adult behaviors. There are no dragons or hot lava, but rather more realistic role-playing, with flat tires and parking spaces. The rarest plaything of all seems to be Mama, who selflessly acts all day in Charlie’s imaginary world to the point of exhaustion.
Although Charlie seems to be calling all the shots, this is a positive nod to creative make-believe. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Nov. 22, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-374-30205-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Margaret Ferguson/Farrar, Straus & Giroux
Review Posted Online: Aug. 16, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2016
May try the patience of antsy little ones, though vehicle fans will be delighted.
A cast of critters as impatient as they are colorful yearn for frozen treats.
In a neighborhood occupied by sweet-toothed beasties, the ice cream truck reigns supreme, but a lengthy roster of vehicles must first pass through this animal kingdom—a dump truck, mail truck, and fire truck, to name just a few. Trucks putter through town to onlookers’ delight and disappointment, and spectators bid each one farewell and wish it good luck—all the while dreaming of the delectable goodies to come. Eagle-eyed readers will know when to expect the ice cream truck’s advent, cleverly foreshadowed in the book’s opening spread. While Runyan’s work is pleasing in its simplicity, with characters rendered in bright watercolors and their homes and greenery depicted in appealing collages, Fairbank’s story drags on a shade too long. Though transportation-loving tots will eagerly exclaim over the various vehicles, others will grow frustrated waiting for the titular truck to arrive. Those seeking to incorporate the book into a storytime may want to practice reading this one aloud first, as some of the verses feel a bit clunky.
May try the patience of antsy little ones, though vehicle fans will be delighted. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 29, 2025
ISBN: 9780062842114
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
Should appeal to all the little grump trucks hauling their feelings about.
When dump trucks get angry (really, really angry), head for the hills!
Little Dump Truck is “the happiest member of the construction crew.” Assisting everyone from Excavator to Bulldozer, she hauls her load merrily. But sometimes things just don’t go her way. In rapid succession, dirt is blown in her face, a tire is punctured, and a flock of birds mistake her for a lavatory. Now she’s Little Grump Truck, and the exceedingly poor advice from her co-workers (“Ignore it. You’ll be fine”; “Shake it off!”) pushes her too far. After Little Grump Truck unloads (figuratively and literally) on her colleagues, everyone else has the “grumpies” too. It isn’t until she closes her eyes and focuses that Little Dump Truck is able to clear her mind and lighten her mood. Apologies are in order, and soon everything is humming (for the time being, anyway). Though the narrative doesn’t drill the message home, both child and adult readers alike will hopefully pick up on the fact that pithy aphorisms are maddeningly unhelpful when one is in a bad mood. Gray skies accompany the dump truck’s mood, which is depicted as an ever morphing agglomeration of hard, black scribbles. The accompanying art serves its purpose, investing its trucks with personality via time-honored headlight, windshield-wiper, and grille facial features. Little Dump Truck has a purple cab and green bed and a single lash on each headlight eye. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Should appeal to all the little grump trucks hauling their feelings about. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-30081-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
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