A winsome board book that highlights both the work of construction crews and the work of nature.
A new addition to the Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site board-book series celebrates spring’s arrival, and Easter’s too.
As “warm sunshine melts the snow away,” a construction site in what looks to be a remote rural area joyfully comes alive. Seven different occupational trucks begin their work, carrying out their specialized tasks. A concrete mixer pours concrete into a trench to make a foundation for a building, a crane truck lifts a huge wooden crate, a dump truck hauls away dirt, and so on. There are no humans pictured in the artwork; instead, the vehicles, which are anthropomorphically rendered with eyes, noses, and mouths, seem to have wills of their own. Each sturdily constructed double-page spread has a flap that, when lifted, reveals a lovely springtime surprise, from a duck and her ducklings swimming in a nearby lake to blooming tulips springing up from the ground behind the wooden crate. To cap off this engaging exploration of a setting that will be fascinating to many young children, not one, but four flaps on the final double-page spread make for a fun Easter egg hunt. Rinker’s rhyming couplets scan well. The flaps are big enough for little ones still developing motor skills, with notched spaces that make them easy to lift. Ford's colored pencil and oil pastel illustrations capture the promise of a new season’s—and a new day’s—dawn and persevere in the style Tom Lichtenheld established in the first book of the series.
A winsome board book that highlights both the work of construction crews and the work of nature. (Novelty board book. 2-5)Pub Date: March 15, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-79720-431-4
Page Count: 16
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Review Posted Online: Jan. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2022
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...
The sturdy Little Blue Truck is back for his third adventure, this time delivering Christmas trees to his band of animal pals.
The truck is decked out for the season with a Christmas wreath that suggests a nose between headlights acting as eyeballs. Little Blue loads up with trees at Toad’s Trees, where five trees are marked with numbered tags. These five trees are counted and arithmetically manipulated in various ways throughout the rhyming story as they are dropped off one by one to Little Blue’s friends. The final tree is reserved for the truck’s own use at his garage home, where he is welcomed back by the tree salestoad in a neatly circular fashion. The last tree is already decorated, and Little Blue gets a surprise along with readers, as tiny lights embedded in the illustrations sparkle for a few seconds when the last page is turned. Though it’s a gimmick, it’s a pleasant surprise, and it fits with the retro atmosphere of the snowy country scenes. The short, rhyming text is accented with colored highlights, red for the animal sounds and bright green for the numerical words in the Christmas-tree countdown.
Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree that will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: Sept. 23, 2014
ISBN: 978-0-544-32041-3
Page Count: 24
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
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Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes.
A lift-the-flap book gives the littlest trick-or-treaters some practice identifying partygoers under their costumes.
Little Blue Truck and his buddy Toad are off to a party, and they invite readers (and a black cat) along for the ride: “ ‘Beep! Beep! Beep!’ / says Little Blue. / ‘It’s Halloween!’ / You come, too.” As they drive, they are surprised (and joined) by many of their friends in costume. “Who’s that in a tutu / striking a pose / up on the tiniest / tips of her toes? / Under the mask / who do you see?” Lifting the flap unmasks a friend: “ ‘Quack!’ says the duck. / ‘It’s me! It’s me!’ ” The sheep is disguised as a clown, the cow’s a queen, the pig’s a witch, the hen and her chick are pirates, and the horse is a dragon. Not to be left out, Little Blue has a costume, too. The flaps are large and sturdy, and enough of the animals’ characteristic features are visible under and around the costumes that little ones will be able to make successful guesses even on the first reading. Lovely curvy shapes and autumn colors fade to dusky blues as night falls, and children are sure to notice the traditional elements of a Halloween party: apple bobbing, lit jack-o’-lanterns, and punch and treats.
Beloved Little Blue takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: July 5, 2016
ISBN: 978-0-544-77253-3
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: July 19, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2016
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BOOK REVIEW
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