An imaginative, fun ode to bus travel and its many minor surprises.
A young bus rider’s misfortune turns weird and delightful in Yang’s playful picture book.
The title page sets the scene: passengers line up by a bright red bus-stop sign. Turn the page and see the back end of a moving bus as a boy runs after it. The boy, of course, doesn’t catch up. Meanwhile, some anthropomorphic triangles take their place at the bus stop, while a green vehicle peeks out on the right page. The subsequent double-page spread reveals a long, tall bus full of triangle-shaped passengers. Naturally, the boy is shocked. “THAT is NOT my bus.” The boy watches it roll away as cowboys and a cowgirl waltz into the scene. Their ride? It’s a covered wagon, big and long…like a bus. “It does not look like MY bus,” says the boy as the covered wagon retreats and in comes a trio of sailors. Yang establishes a pattern from the get-go, piling on the outlandish and the fab (a bounce house in a domed bus?) in broad strokes. Drab, square buildings serve as a city backdrop, while color and curves bring to life the buses and passengers (varied in skin color and shape—the protagonist is orangey-brown). The sparse text pops up in small bursts to punctuate the proceedings. When the boy takes a chance on a cool-looking balloon bus, it’s a small triumph.
An imaginative, fun ode to bus travel and its many minor surprises. (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: March 13, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-425-28877-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Viking
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2018
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
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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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