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THE DUMPED TRUCK

Name: THE DUMPED TRUCK
Author: Daniel Bernstrom
ISBN: 9780063373624

by Daniel Bernstrom ; illustrated by Marcelo Verdad ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 19, 2026

Delightful, community-minded, and, above all, great fun.

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So much dirt everywhere!

A filthy yellow dump truck named (naturally) Dump adores “dirty work,” as well as “fixing things and cleaning up dirt.” Unfortunately for the citizens of Toyville, Dump’s dirty work has led to some unpleasant—and smelly—situations. He dumps a heap of dust on Giggly, a teddy bear with brawny tattooed arms who wears a frilly pink tutu, and he gets garbage all over Bark, a gray mechanical dog. Fed up, the toys create some new rules: “no working with dirt or grime or muck, and no—NOT AT ALL—no dirty dump trucks!” With Dump forbidden from doing his job, the trash in Toyville piles up, and soon the residents are at their wits’ end. Eventually, everyone declares the rules to be more harmful than good, and Dump resumes his work, much to everyone’s appreciation. Bernstrom and Pura Belpré Illustrator Award winner Verdad have created a vibrant, humorous world where everyone has a place. Bernstrom’s propulsive, rhyming text scans well, making this a clever and natural choice for a read-aloud. Verdad’s charmingly childlike acrylic, paper, and digital collage art, with its pastel palette peeking through the dingy greens and browns of Dump’s path, features modern toys with expressive faces and body language, making for a lively tale that will draw young readers in.

Delightful, community-minded, and, above all, great fun. (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: May 19, 2026

ISBN: 9780063373624

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Jan. 19, 2026

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2026

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

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A BEAR, A MAN, AND A DONUT VAN
by Daniel Bernstrom ; illustrated by Brandon James Scott

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ONE DAY AT THE BOTTOM OF THE DEEP BLUE SEA
by Daniel Bernstrom ; illustrated by Brandon James Scott

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THE COOKIE VOTE
by Margaret McNamara & Daniel Bernstrom ; illustrated by G. Brian Karas

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: June 21, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-06-234834-0

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: May 3, 2016

Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2016

Categories:

CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES

- BOOK REVIEW
A PERFECT PLACE TO PLAY
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Jim Valeri

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF FIRST GRADE
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Sarah Jennings

- BOOK REVIEW
FIVE LITTLE BUNNIES
by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Dan Yaccarino

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IT'S NOT EASY BEING A GHOST

From the It's Not Easy Being series

by Marilyn Sadler ; illustrated by Stephanie Laberis ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 13, 2024

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet.

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A ghost longs to be scary, but none of the creepy personas she tries on fit.

Misty, a feline ghost with big green eyes and long whiskers, wants to be the frightening presence that her haunted house calls for, but sadly, she’s “too cute to be spooky.” She dons toilet paper to resemble a mummy, attempts to fly on a broom like a witch, and howls at the moon like a werewolf. Nothing works. She heads to a Halloween party dressed reluctantly as herself. When she arrives, her friends’ joyful screams reassure her that she’s great just as she is. Sadler’s message, though a familiar one, is delivered effectively in a charming, ghostly package. Misty truly is too precious to be frightening. Laberis depicts an endearingly spooky, all-animal cast—a frog witch, for instance, and a crocodilian mummy. Misty’s sidekick, a cheery little bat who lends support throughout, might be even more adorable than she is. Though Misty’s haunted house is filled with cobwebs and surrounded by jagged, leafless trees, the charming characters keep things from ever getting too frightening. The images will encourage lingering looks. Clearly, there’s plenty that makes Misty special just as she is—a takeaway that adults sharing the book with their little ones should be sure to drive home.

Too cute to be spooky indeed but most certainly sweet. (Picture book. 4-6)