Standing out as bright and unique in an increasingly competitive genre of picture books highlighting wheeled machines, Lyon and Frazier team up to seamlessly combine loads of truck facts with some funky whimsy to mesmerize the tot that can’t get enough. The graphics grab the attention with day-glow colors and close-up, bold details of many and various trucks. The imagination is further stirred by all manner of cargo these big vehicles carry to and fro. “Trucks have trailers. Trucks have cabs.” Right, sure, everyone knows that. “Some haul rabbits. Some haul labs.” Wait a minute! The illustration shows a long-eared bunny in the bed of a truck facing a panting yellow dog in another. The reader may ponder whether trucks really haul giant chocolate-chip cookies, huge puzzles and spaceships unless they belong in the toy box. At the end of the day, the tired trucker stops at the groovy truck stop with its retro, lighted sign. This is a great way to get young reading engines revved up and rolling. (Picture book. 2-5)
