Tractor enthusiasts will want to put this book in gear over and over again.
A helpful vehicle supports a family through a busy farming year.
Whether plowing snow, transporting apples, or delivering animal feed, Little Tractor is indispensable in every season! Starting in January, our hero has a new chore and farm implement to use each month. There’s plenty of educational potential as a supremely competent farmer and child tap maple trees to collect sap in March and “load pumpkins till my bucket’s full!” in October. A reference guide in the backmatter identifying the equipment, especially lesser-known tools such as the baler and the wood splitter, will definitely pique machinery lovers’ interest. Wolff relies on rhyming couplets that chug along as proficiently as Little Tractor; her verse is comfortably paced, with just the right amount of information. Her tranquil, darkly outlined lino-block and ink illustrations capture the idyllic essence of a New England farming community. Wolff leverages the agrarian setting brilliantly, creating a picturesque scene of a verdant orchard dripping with ruby apples; another page depicts the kite-flying child, diminutive against expansive chartreuse fields. The month names are cleverly incorporated into the spacious double-page spreads. Some readers might find Little Tractor’s anthropomorphized cartoon face, which switches between grill and dashboard, a bit oddly superimposed onto the otherwise realistic art. Little Tractor’s owners have pale skin; a diverse group of people attend a Fourth of July parade.
Tractor enthusiasts will want to put this book in gear over and over again. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: Dec. 8, 2026
ISBN: 9781665971133
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: Aug. 3, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2026
A terrific choice for the preschool crowd.
Little Blue Truck learns that he can be as important as the big yellow school bus.
Little Blue Truck is driving along the country road early one morning when he and driver friend Toad come across a big, yellow, shiny school bus. The school bus is friendly, and so are her animal passengers, but when Little Blue Truck wishes aloud he could do an important job like hers, the school bus says only a bus of her size and features can do this job. Little Blue Truck continues along, a bit envious, and finds Piggy crying by the side of the road, having missed the bus. Little Blue tells Piggy to climb in and takes a creative path to the school—one the bus couldn’t navigate—and with an adventurous spirit, gets Piggy there right on time. The simple, rhyming text opens the story with a sweet, fresh, old-fashioned tone and continues with effortlessly rhythmical lines throughout. Little Blue is a brave, helpful, and hopeful character young readers will root for. Adults will feel a rush of nostalgia and delight in sharing this story with children as the animated vehicles and animals in innocent, colorful countryside scenes evoke wholesome character traits and values of growth, grit, and self-acceptance. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A terrific choice for the preschool crowd. (Picture book. 3-7)Pub Date: June 29, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-358-41224-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: May 18, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2021
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
While there are many rhyming truck books out there, this stands out for being a collection of poems.
Rhyming poems introduce children to anthropomorphized trucks of all sorts, as well as the jobs that they do.
Adorable multiethnic children are the drivers of these 16 trucks—from construction equipment to city trucks, rescue vehicles and a semi—easily standing in for readers, a point made very clear on the final spread. Varying rhyme schemes and poem lengths help keep readers’ attention. For the most part, the rhymes and rhythms work, as in this, from “Cement Mixer”: “No time to wait; / he can’t sit still. / He has to beg your pardon. / For if he dawdles on the way, / his slushy load will harden.” Slonim’s trucks each sport an expressive pair of eyes, but the anthropomorphism stops there, at least in the pictures—Vestergaard sometimes takes it too far, as in “Bulldozer”: “He’s not a bully, either, / although he’s big and tough. / He waits his turn, plays well with friends, / and pushes just enough.” A few trucks’ jobs get short shrift, to mixed effect: “Skid-Steer Loader” focuses on how this truck moves without the typical steering wheel, but “Semi” runs with a royalty analogy and fails to truly impart any knowledge. The acrylic-and-charcoal artwork, set against white backgrounds, keeps the focus on the trucks and the jobs they are doing.
While there are many rhyming truck books out there, this stands out for being a collection of poems. (Picture book/poetry. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5078-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
