LITTLE PURPLE TRACTOR

A purple tractor discovers his purpose.

“Deep in farm country…Purple Tractor had a comfortable home and loving parents, but he was unhappy.” The other tractors—orange, red, and blue—make fun of him because of his inability to perform farm-related chores. He finds comfort talking with Brown Truck, who’s lived on the farm longer than any other vehicle and tells stories about the old days. Brown Truck has the perfect job for Purple Tractor: working on a construction site. Purple Tractor heads to a construction site with Brown Truck and enjoys the work. His fellow farm tractors start to feel threatened by his new sense of self, but once he saves the day after a severe weather event, he eventually finds his place in both worlds. Exhaustingly long blocks of text are paired with static illustrations of pastoral and urban scenes. While heavy machinery is often an automatic hit with young children, this one will have a hard time finding an appreciative audience. The story is wordy, with a leaden sentimentality that comes from painstakingly explaining what lessons readers should be taking away. The heroism in this Little Heroes, Big Hearts series leaves a lot to be desired.

Only for kids who really, really want to look at pictures of tractors.