A warm Christmas read and a reminder of the best gifts: friendship, kindness, helpfulness, and cooperation.
The little truck that helped.
Even during a snowfall, Little Red Truck and driver Katie work and make repairs. One after another, six brightly colored vehicles in need stop them, imploring, “Help, Little Red, help!” Observant readers will note each entreaty is enclosed within a speech bubble whose color matches that of the vehicle and its driver’s clothing (except for a silver sleigh steered by a red-suited fellow), helping younger kids hone their color-recognition skills. Additionally, aurally attuned readers may note that, after each seen-to vehicle leaves, the text adds the word down to a key sentence. Thus, after the first vehicle departs, the text reads, “The snow came down”; following the second repair, it reads, “The snow came down and down,” and so on. This correlation heightens children’s number and pattern awareness. Little Red also punctuates each farewell with his onomatopoeic “Honk, honk! Beep, beep!” exclamation. This is a cheery, albeit low-key Christmas story; some visual cues—Santa and a tree borne by Little Red—nod to the holiday. Readers will appreciate the 90-degree book turn required near the end showing the raised tree festooned with bulbs by eager kids. A final scene portrays it encircled by the vehicles; together, they cry out a rainbow-hued “HOORAY!” Katie is pale-skinned; background characters are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A warm Christmas read and a reminder of the best gifts: friendship, kindness, helpfulness, and cooperation. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2023
ISBN: 9780316333627
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
A syrupy tribute to mothers that may please fans of the series.
Another creature is on the loose.
The long-running series continues its successful formula with this Hallmark card of a book, which features bright illustrations and catchy rhymes. This time, the mythical creature the racially diverse children set out to catch is an absent mom who does it all (lists of descriptors include the words banker, caregiver, nurse, doctor, driver, chef, housekeeper, teacher, entertainer, playmate, laundry service, problem solver, handywoman, cleaner, and alarm clock) but doesn’t seem to have a job outside the home and is inexplicably a dinosaur. As the children prepare gifts and a meal for her, the text becomes an ode to the skills the Mamasaurus possesses (“Day or night she’s always there. / She meets every wish and need”) and values she instills (“Sometimes life can mean hard work,” “kindness matters,” and “what counts is doing your best”). This well-intentioned selection veers into cliche generously sprinkled with saccharine but manages to redeem itself with its appreciation for mothers and all that they may do. Endpapers include a “to” and “from” page framed in a heart, as well as a page where young gift givers or recipients can draw a picture of their Mamasaurus.
A syrupy tribute to mothers that may please fans of the series. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 5, 2024
ISBN: 9781728274300
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Sourcebooks Wonderland
Review Posted Online: Dec. 6, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2024
While there are many rhyming truck books out there, this stands out for being a collection of poems.
Rhyming poems introduce children to anthropomorphized trucks of all sorts, as well as the jobs that they do.
Adorable multiethnic children are the drivers of these 16 trucks—from construction equipment to city trucks, rescue vehicles and a semi—easily standing in for readers, a point made very clear on the final spread. Varying rhyme schemes and poem lengths help keep readers’ attention. For the most part, the rhymes and rhythms work, as in this, from “Cement Mixer”: “No time to wait; / he can’t sit still. / He has to beg your pardon. / For if he dawdles on the way, / his slushy load will harden.” Slonim’s trucks each sport an expressive pair of eyes, but the anthropomorphism stops there, at least in the pictures—Vestergaard sometimes takes it too far, as in “Bulldozer”: “He’s not a bully, either, / although he’s big and tough. / He waits his turn, plays well with friends, / and pushes just enough.” A few trucks’ jobs get short shrift, to mixed effect: “Skid-Steer Loader” focuses on how this truck moves without the typical steering wheel, but “Semi” runs with a royalty analogy and fails to truly impart any knowledge. The acrylic-and-charcoal artwork, set against white backgrounds, keeps the focus on the trucks and the jobs they are doing.
While there are many rhyming truck books out there, this stands out for being a collection of poems. (Picture book/poetry. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5078-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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