Useful for community-helpers units and fun for vehicle mavens.
Who knew that trash collection could be such a treat?
For one young brown-skinned kid, the cacophonous sound of the garbage truck approaching the house brings excitement galore. Don’t you know, “it’s GARBAGE DAY!” That means thrilling noises, lights, and shaking emanating from the truck and—even better—scrunching of the contents of the neighborhood’s trash cans. The kid’s pals aren’t immune to the high drama as they watch and listen in awe and then reenact a garbage-collecting scenario that includes assembling a toy truck and gathering assorted throwaway items. As they take in this ode to rubbish pickups, children will collect some brief tips about composting and recycling, though a scene in which kids repair and buff up items to give away is downright confusing when the implication is that they will go into the garbage truck as well. Though the text is a tad overlong, the jaunty, rollicking rhymes will keep children entertained, and they will merrily chime in with the refrain: “Hooray, it’s GARBAGE DAY!” Some number- and color-recognition cues are incorporated via text and art. Illustrations are colorful, cheery, and lively; children and sanitation workers are diverse in gender and racial presentation. A brown-skinned child wears glasses; a White-presenting kid is shown in a wheelchair. Onomatopoeic words in display type appear throughout, emphasizing the rumbling, crashing sounds the garbage truck makes.
Useful for community-helpers units and fun for vehicle mavens. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Dec. 1, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-68464-114-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: Oct. 12, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 1, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Extremely simple and rather sweet.
Bulldozer is worried about what to give his friends for Christmas.
On Christmas Eve, Dump Truck is carrying, Digger Truck is stringing, and Crane Truck is lifting—all in service of decorating for Christmas. But Bulldozer is on the side, surrounded by cats, worrying. He has not a single gift for his friends. What can he do? He sees a tire half buried in the snow and wonders what other treasures might be there. He starts to dig, and he hits something…but it turns out to be junk. He keeps on digging and finds something else: “more junk.” He keeps digging and digging. The piles grow larger, the sky gets darker, and Bulldozer’s hope fades. But then he thinks he sees something through the snow. He pokes the pile of junk this way and that. He adds bits and pieces. As his friends call out to him that it’s quitting time, Bulldozer puts last touches on his gift. He moves aside to reveal his creation to his friends, and all are pleased with the gift. The little yellow Bulldozer with his entourage of animal friends is a likable character whose plight children will relate to and whose noncommercial solution is a model for creative youngsters to take as inspiration. Best for wrapping a message of giving within a truck-loving package full of sound effects. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Extremely simple and rather sweet. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 21, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-5344-3820-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Caitlyn Dlouhy/Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2021
Fans of the series will delight in seeing these favorites again, and Girl and Dragon should win some new ones.
A young girl and a dragon take their sweet friendship on an adventure.
After sharing the beginning and deepening of their friendship in Lovabye Dragon (2012) and Evermore Dragon (2015), Joosse puts this twosome on a journey to the high seas. Girl, forever sleeping in her same bed, dreams of sailing away. Dragon, snug in his lair, dreams of sailing with Girl. “Sometimes when friends share a heart / they dream the same thing, apart.” So they pack a wicker basket, a spyglass, and a banner and wave goodbye. The ocean provides plenty of interest with dolphins, whales, and Bad Hats with ratty beards (depicted as Vikings who differ only in the amount of their facial hair). There’s also a cat. The dreamy, highly textured oil pictures by Cecil in his signature palette of gentle grays, greens, and blues make the transition from land to sea seamlessly. With a tender nod to “The Owl and the Pussycat,” the scenery is full of diversions while the clever rhyming verse full of wordplay drifts the story farther from Home. The hazy images allow young minds to see this tiny princess with dark hair as racially ambiguous. As in many famous stories, one must leave home to find home, which is the same for these two loving friends. “With Dragon as boat / and Girl as crew / there was nothing—nothing—they couldn’t do!”
Fans of the series will delight in seeing these favorites again, and Girl and Dragon should win some new ones. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 24, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-7636-7313-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: Aug. 1, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 15, 2017
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