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TO THE RESCUE!

Name: TO THE RESCUE!
Author: Kate Riggs
ISBN: 978-1-56846-288-2

by Kate Riggs ; illustrated by Nate Williams ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 8, 2016

This book needs a rescue of its own.

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A board-book survey of rescue vehicles.

Unfortunately, an unrealistic amount of prior knowledge is expected of board-book readers, who may not know enough about rescue operations to separate fact from whimsy. Predictably, a firetruck, police car, and tow truck are included. Young children may also already have seen an ambulance and snowplow, but very few young children will understand that a smiling cat wearing skis and holding a ladder attached to a helicopter is being rescued rather than having the time of its life. Riggs has chosen her words well. Each vehicle's job is summed up in one line of handwritten text followed by an action word (“push” for the snowplow; “pull” for the tow truck). The busy illustrations don't do the words justice, sometimes conveying additional information but also cluttered with unrelated decorative elements and the antics of the animals operating the equipment. An elephant riding the firetruck while spraying water from its trunk is both silly and confusing, especially given the fire hydrant languishing in the foreground. The final spread reprises some of the animals along with a few goofy-looking white humans saying “We want to ride in a rescue vehicle.” Young readers won't join in.

This book needs a rescue of its own. (Board book. 6 mos.-2)

Pub Date: March 8, 2016

ISBN: 978-1-56846-288-2

Page Count: 14

Publisher: Creative Editions/Creative Company

Review Posted Online: March 15, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S HEALTH & DAILY LIVING | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
IN THE GARDEN
by Kate Riggs ; illustrated by Monique Felix

- BOOK REVIEW
SOUNDS OF THE FOREST
by Kate Riggs ; illustrated by Fiammetta Dogi

- BOOK REVIEW
BEYOND THE STARS
by Kate Riggs ; illustrated by Chris Sheban

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED

From the Little Blue Truck series

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 25, 2025

A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.

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In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.

Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”

A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: March 25, 2025

ISBN: 9780063387843

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S VALENTINE
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S CHRISTMAS

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 23, 2014

Little Blue’s fans will enjoy the animal sounds and counting opportunities, but it’s the sparkling lights on the truck’s own...

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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)