From rhyming text to plot to art / this story is all kinds of smart.
Can she fix it? Yes, she can!
“Last night it rained. There was a flood. / The ranger calls. ‘Please clear this mud!’ / So Digger Daisy tells her crew, / ‘Load the trucks. There’s work to do.’” Pale-skinned Daisy and three hard-hatted and racially diverse workers get in their respective trucks and drive to a campground, where the fretful, brown-skinned ranger shows them a mess of downed trees and strewn rocks. Daisy and her hardworking crew hop back in their trucks and proceed to “scoop and dump,” “lift and load,” and otherwise clear the road of debris. But uh-oh: The dozer gets stuck in some muck! Daisy’s daisy-emblazoned pink excavator (which matches her hard hat) pulls but can do only so much; fortunately, Daisy’s imagination knows no bounds. Her idea—provide traction for the dozer’s wheels—saves the day, with an assist from some beavers willing to share their lumber: “With logs lined up, and pulling hard, / the dozer moves…an inch…a yard!” This is a thrilling bite-size adventure—littles do love a tale of heroism—fueled by percussive, high-octane rhymes. Yaccarino supplies his customary flat, geometric digital illustrations, which tend toward simplicity here, and the result will delight young readers, especially devotees of Byron Barton and fans of the other books in the Big Jobs, Bold Women series.
From rhyming text to plot to art / this story is all kinds of smart. (Picture book. 2-6)Pub Date: July 21, 2026
ISBN: 9780823461240
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: April 6, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2026
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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BOOK REVIEW
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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
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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