A well-designed and likable addition to the hefty field of picture books for young fans of useful heavy machinery and trucks.
John Deere tractors show their multipurpose usefulness in this continuation of a picture-book series for young children.
Picture books about heavy machinery, construction equipment, big trucks, and tractors are hardly in short supply, but considering the genre’s avid young fan base, there’s always room for one more. With engaging simplicity, nonfiction author Gebhart (2 Lives in 3 Acts, 2017, etc.) offers a crisply photographed tribute to the venerable John Deere tractor for children in the pre-K to early-elementary range. Following the formula of his previous celebrations of heavy machinery brands Caterpillar and Bobcat, Gebhart introduces the John Deere tractor as “him,” again personalizing a utilitarian vehicle for his young audience as he did with “Bob” the Bobcat and “CAT” the Caterpillar. Rather than a story narrative, however, children are treated to photographs of Deere models (one with treads, one with wheels) in action, equipped variously with drills, rollers, forklifts, a snowplow, excavators, and loaders. The photographs, mostly taken under blue skies and shot on farms, construction sites, and other outdoor areas, are centered on the top half of each page. The eye-pleasing design includes captions beneath the images with simple descriptions of the actions shown (“Deere lifts a concrete block,” “Deere plants a Christmas tree,” “Deere pours stones”). There is also a shot of the tractor’s control center interior (“What Deere looks like inside”). For the most part, tractor operators are glimpsed through the vehicles’ windows, although two captions refer to human “help.” One says, “Deere gets help on a farm,” but because the driver is only dimly seen, the caption’s meaning could be clearer. The second “help” photo shows a tractor operator and other workers front and center, and the context is plain to see—as is this book’s overall appeal for pint-sized enthusiasts.
A well-designed and likable addition to the hefty field of picture books for young fans of useful heavy machinery and trucks.Pub Date: March 3, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-5447-8860-9
Page Count: 24
Publisher: CreateSpace
Review Posted Online: April 27, 2017
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
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A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
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