BULLDOZER HELPS OUT

A little bulldozer makes a big difference in this story with an unexpected twist at the end.

Bulldozer feels left out and overlooked on the construction site, where bigger vehicles such as Cement Mixer, Crane Truck, and Digger Truck (a backhoe), among others, are hard at work. “I can help,” he tells them, hopefully, only to be brushed aside—at first. Then Crane suggests that an area off to the side needs to be cleared and flattened, and Bulldozer zooms into action. But all of a sudden, out of the others’ sights, he pauses and just gives the pile of earth little nudges before “he hunkered down, hushed and watchful.…Hours passed.” When the big trucks find him they are dismayed to see that he’s accomplished so little, until they look closer and see that he’s been watching over a mother cat and six kittens, curled up together near Bulldozer’s blade. They praise him, Dump Truck offering, “taking care of babies? Now that’s a rough, tough job.” Closing block-print illustrations of a beaming Bulldozer seem unfinished against empty white backgrounds as compared to the other spreads, which undermines the cohesion of this otherwise excellent picture book.

A sure hit at storytime, bedtime, or any cozy reading time.