A bona fide fiasco on wheels that’ll have the kids screaming for more.
Neither snow nor sleet nor missing wheels stay this brave 18-wheeler from its appointed round.
Stein and Staake try their hand at a bit of plot after having created multiple books in the free-wheeling Cars Galore (2011) vein. Tony is a massive semi with plenty of experience delivering goods on time. Alas, today is one day when Tony will find himself tested like never before. First he loses a wheel when he slides on some slime. Then poor roads, baby ducks, and wheel thieves beset the brave truck in turn. After the encounter with wheel-eating aliens, Tony’s lost 14 wheels. The last four are soon to follow, but what’s that? Up ahead lies Tony’s destination. Can he make it after all? Staake applies much of the cheerful chaos already perfected when he illustrated Margaret Wise Brown’s similarly out-of-control The Steam Roller (2017). A cast of rainbow-colored people gapes and gawps as Tony barrels through candy-colored retro landscapes filled with tiny details for sharp little eyes (and a solid Seinfeld reference for older ones). Whether it’s thieves, ET’s, or slime, this book’s rhymes never strain for the right number of syllables, upping the ante on the action beautifully. (This book was reviewed digitally with 9-by-22-inch double-page spreads viewed at 43.9% of actual size.)
A bona fide fiasco on wheels that’ll have the kids screaming for more. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Nov. 17, 2020
ISBN: 978-0-593-11420-9
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2020
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends.
Is it a stormy-night scare or a bedtime book? Both!
Little Blue Truck and his good friend Toad are heading home when a storm lets loose. Before long, their familiar, now very nervous barnyard friends (Goat, Hen, Goose, Cow, Duck, and Pig) squeeze into the garage. Blue explains that “clouds bump and tumble in the sky, / but here inside we’re warm and dry, / and all the thirsty plants below / will get a drink to help them grow!” The friends begin to relax. “Duck said, loud as he could quack it, / ‘THUNDER’S JUST A NOISY RACKET!’ ” In the quiet after the storm, the barnyard friends are sleepy, but the garage is not their home. “ ‘Beep!’ said Blue. ‘Just hop inside. / All aboard for the bedtime ride!’ ” Young readers will settle down for their own bedtimes as Blue and Toad drop each friend at home and bid them a good night before returning to the garage and their own beds. “Blue gave one small sleepy ‘Beep.’ / Then Little Blue Truck fell fast asleep.” Joseph’s rich nighttime-blue illustrations (done “in the style of [series co-creator] Jill McElmurry”) highlight the power of the storm and capture the still serenity that follows. Little Blue Truck has been chugging along since 2008, but there seems to be plenty of gas left in the tank.
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-85213-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Count on construction die-hards falling in love, but discerning readers would be wise to look elsewhere for their...
Less ambitious than Chris Gall’s widely known Dinotrux (2009) and sequels, this British import systematically relegates each dinosaur/construction-equipment hybrid to its most logical job.
The title figures are introduced as bigger than both diggers and dinosaurs, and rhyming text and two construction-helmeted kids show just what these creatures are capable of. Each diggersaur has a specific job to do and a distinct sound effect. The dozersaurus moves rocks with a “SCRAAAAPE!!!” while the rollersaurus flattens lumps with a cheery “TOOT TOOT!!” Each diggersaur is numbered, with 12 in all, allowing this to be a counting book on the sly. As the diggersaurs (not all of which dig) perform jobs that regular construction equipment can do, albeit on a larger scale, there is no particular reason why any of them should have dinosaurlike looks other than just ’cause. Peppy computer art tries valiantly to attract attention away from the singularly unoriginal text. “Diggersaurs dig with bites so BIG, / each SCOOP creates a crater. // They’re TOUGH and STRONG / with necks so long— / they’re super EXCAVATORS!” Far more interesting are the two human characters, a white girl and a black boy, that flit about the pictures offering commentary and action. Much of the fun of the book can be found in trying to spot them on every two-page spread.
Count on construction die-hards falling in love, but discerning readers would be wise to look elsewhere for their dino/construction kicks. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-4779-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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