THE MIGHTY STREET SWEEPER

Labeling everything from the dirt hopper to the safety light, the endpapers set the stage with basic blueprints of the street sweeper. “The biggest, fastest, most powerful truck . . . is not the street sweeper.” So it begins, and in spare words, spends the next several pages detailing what this machine isn’t by contrasting it with other work vehicles. The bulldozer pushes things out of the way while the sweeper must go around; the electromagnetic crane can pick up two-ton automobiles, but the sweeper can pick up, well, a gum wrapper; and the sweeper can only squirt a small puddle of water compared to the tons of concrete a boom pump can jet. The reader’s heart softens towards this underdog until reminded that the street sweeper, too, has a very specialized and unique job. The illustrations deliver creamy colors corralled by clean lines. The vehicles are drawn within uncluttered landscapes and all driven by wee animals that care for them with pride. In this little delight, Moore honors the common, but far from average, making even the most ordinary seem extraordinary. (Picture book. 3-5)