Despite its emphasis on friendship, this muddied story with its awkward puns doesn’t become greater than the sum of its...
A superhero truck? Just what the world needs!
Many young kids love superheroes and trucks and getting dirty, so what could be better than a picture book that glorifies all three? Clarence, a rather ordinary-looking dirty pickup truck, and Bruno, a nattier-looking cement mixer, are best friends, but readers soon learn that with a quick wash job, Clarence turns into the bright red Mighty Truck. Mighty Truck is supposed to keep his identity secret, but when faced with a perilous emergency at Muddymania, held in Axleburg Arena, he has to make a quick decision. Can he use his superpowers (without revealing his secret identity) to prevent exhausted Flo, the watering truck who has created all the mud for the special event, from crashing haphazardly into the all-truck crowd? Like a four-wheeled Jimmy Olsen, Bruno forges ahead, and Clarence, aka Mighty Truck, must follow. The rescue is accomplished, but Bruno learns the secret. The bromance is sealed, but is there a whiff of old-fashioned anti-feminism in the air? Why is it Flo, the female truck, who must be rescued? Most kids won’t care, and the Adobe Photoshop digital illustrations are full of all kinds of moving vehicles with faces, resembling childhood favorites like Little Toot and Thomas the Tank Engine.
Despite its emphasis on friendship, this muddied story with its awkward puns doesn’t become greater than the sum of its parts. (Picture book. 4-6)Pub Date: March 28, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-234479-3
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Dec. 5, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2016
Lisa’s first solo airplane flight is a long one—Paris to New York. It’s anything but boring, though: a short nap, then a big tray of food, then a movie, then, because seeing the movie screen means perching precariously on a glassful of juice to peer over the seat in front, she gets a tour of the restroom for a wash in the sink. Finally, she gets a rare treat: a welcome into the cockpit to meet the pilots who compliment her on her nice smell—the soap. Hallensleben (Baboon, 1997, etc) depicts his intrepid traveler as a tiny puppy, sort of a stuffed lap toy with facial expressions. The soothing color scheme, richly laid down in a child-like style, plus Lisa’s chirpy, bright-eyed interest in everything, make this companion to Gaspard on Vacation (see above) a first-class anxiety dispeller for children facing their own inaugural flights. Legible hand-lettered text. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-375-81114-1
Page Count: 28
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2001
A kidnapped orphan races away to freedom. In an Arabian village, a little boy named Azad, who lives with his poor elderly uncle, fetches water for tea and tends to the goat before running off to play with his friends. His gymnastics skills attract the attention of a sheikh, who offers to train the boy as a camel rider. Whisked to the desert to live with a bunch of other boys, Azad competes in dangerous races and suffers brutal discipline. He and his camel Asfur become inseparable; one day, they win a race and keep going, until the men who have oppressed them are far in the distance. Boy and camel sleep curled up together under the desert moon and awake to the smiling faces of a group of Bedouins; Azad and Asfur have found a home at last. Pal's striking illustrations in watercolor and ink position sharply delineated characters in the foreground against soft, blurry desert backgrounds. Her heart-tugging tale also folds in a succinct social-studies lesson, and a brief afterword explains the controversial "sport" of camel racing. (Picture book. 4-6)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-84507-982-6
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Frances Lincoln
Review Posted Online: July 15, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2010
BOOK REVIEW
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