While it’s cute and will help to complete vehicle lovers’ collections, this package doesn’t do much to address school fears...
Rhyming verses stretch out the job of a school bus to 12 spreads.
Driving down the road, picking up kids and dropping them off, visiting the mechanic, operating the wheelchair platform and going around a bend are a few of the things the yellow vehicle does in the job it so obviously loves, as evidenced by its smiling bumper, cheerful eyes and pink cheeks—all vehicle parts. Each verse starts with “I’m a little school bus,” so readers (especially those reading aloud) will be hard-pressed not to try to force the rhymes into the tune for “I’m a Little Teapot.” Some work better than others, both at fitting the tune and scanning well. “I’m a little school bus / waiting by the walk. / Boys and girls climb on, / sit and laugh and talk.” Kolar’s digital illustrations are cartoon-bright, the people are nicely diverse, and there’s not a grumpy face to be found. Oddly, the creators choose not to focus on a single day; the illustrations go from skirt- and shorts-clad children to a snow day and back to T-shirts in just three spreads. There’s not much on bus safety (save lining up to get on and don’t put your hands out the windows), and the pictures never show the inside of the bus.
While it’s cute and will help to complete vehicle lovers’ collections, this package doesn’t do much to address school fears or preparedness in the preschool audience it appears to be aimed at. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: June 24, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-8050-9435-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano/Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2014
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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2025 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
