Children who already love the Little Blue Truck series will be ready to move on to a holiday celebration with Tractor Mac.
In this entry in the Tractor Mac series, the anthropomorphic red tractor assists with transporting a gigantic evergreen tree into town for the annual Christmas tree–lighting ceremony.
The region around Stony Meadow Farm is getting walloped by a snowstorm, and Tractor Mac is ready to help after the addition of tire chains and a front bucket loader. Farmer Bill and Tractor Mac work together in the snow to dig out Sibley the horse and the huge sled carrying the Christmas tree. On their way into town, Bill and Mac also dig out a dump truck, a fire truck, and a school bus, all on their way to the celebration. The line of vehicles parades into town, following the dump truck as it plows the way. The townspeople decorate the tree and celebrate with songs and food for all at a happy, old-fashioned town party. The humorous, short text includes lots of funny comments from the farm animals and repeated sound effects from Tractor Mac as he works. Appealing watercolor-and-pencil illustrations are filled with swirling snow, talking animals, and vehicles with friendly, bulging eyes who are quite believable in their earnest concern to get the job done and the party started. A bonus feature included on the endpapers shows labeled diagrams of the fire truck and Tractor Mac.
Children who already love the Little Blue Truck series will be ready to move on to a holiday celebration with Tractor Mac. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 8, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-374-30112-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Review Posted Online: Aug. 11, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2015
Count on construction die-hards falling in love, but discerning readers would be wise to look elsewhere for their...
Less ambitious than Chris Gall’s widely known Dinotrux (2009) and sequels, this British import systematically relegates each dinosaur/construction-equipment hybrid to its most logical job.
The title figures are introduced as bigger than both diggers and dinosaurs, and rhyming text and two construction-helmeted kids show just what these creatures are capable of. Each diggersaur has a specific job to do and a distinct sound effect. The dozersaurus moves rocks with a “SCRAAAAPE!!!” while the rollersaurus flattens lumps with a cheery “TOOT TOOT!!” Each diggersaur is numbered, with 12 in all, allowing this to be a counting book on the sly. As the diggersaurs (not all of which dig) perform jobs that regular construction equipment can do, albeit on a larger scale, there is no particular reason why any of them should have dinosaurlike looks other than just ’cause. Peppy computer art tries valiantly to attract attention away from the singularly unoriginal text. “Diggersaurs dig with bites so BIG, / each SCOOP creates a crater. // They’re TOUGH and STRONG / with necks so long— / they’re super EXCAVATORS!” Far more interesting are the two human characters, a white girl and a black boy, that flit about the pictures offering commentary and action. Much of the fun of the book can be found in trying to spot them on every two-page spread.
Count on construction die-hards falling in love, but discerning readers would be wise to look elsewhere for their dino/construction kicks. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: April 2, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-9848-4779-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2019
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
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