A swift and breathless tour.
On a beautiful day, Dewey sits under a shady tree, blowing bubbles by himself. “The best part of blowing bubbles is popping them,” he declares.
One bubble gets away, and Dewey decides to give chase. As the bubble floats away, Dewey first jumps, then clambers to the top of a jungle gym and then to the rooftop in an effort to catch the errant bubble. His quest takes him to the top of a skyscraper, then into a hot air balloon, and then onto a helicopter, then a biplane, then a zooming F-16; not high enough! He’ll never be able to catch it, unless…yes! It’s the day of the moon launch, and Dewey hitches a ride on a rocket, landing on the moon. In his spacesuit, the lack of gravity allows him to reach high, but the bubble remains just out of reach. Defeated, he returns home. It’s bedtime, but Dewey can’t resist one last look through his telescope—which yields a big surprise. Eaton and Rockefeller introduce readers to various forms of transportation with Dewey’s mad dash. Graphic panels speed readers through the story, but, rather like a bubble, it’s ultimately insubstantial. Dewey has olive skin and black hair, and among the aviators he encounters are a confident older black man and a young white woman.
A swift and breathless tour. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: July 3, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-62672-503-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: First Second
Review Posted Online: May 13, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2018
While there are many rhyming truck books out there, this stands out for being a collection of poems.
Rhyming poems introduce children to anthropomorphized trucks of all sorts, as well as the jobs that they do.
Adorable multiethnic children are the drivers of these 16 trucks—from construction equipment to city trucks, rescue vehicles and a semi—easily standing in for readers, a point made very clear on the final spread. Varying rhyme schemes and poem lengths help keep readers’ attention. For the most part, the rhymes and rhythms work, as in this, from “Cement Mixer”: “No time to wait; / he can’t sit still. / He has to beg your pardon. / For if he dawdles on the way, / his slushy load will harden.” Slonim’s trucks each sport an expressive pair of eyes, but the anthropomorphism stops there, at least in the pictures—Vestergaard sometimes takes it too far, as in “Bulldozer”: “He’s not a bully, either, / although he’s big and tough. / He waits his turn, plays well with friends, / and pushes just enough.” A few trucks’ jobs get short shrift, to mixed effect: “Skid-Steer Loader” focuses on how this truck moves without the typical steering wheel, but “Semi” runs with a royalty analogy and fails to truly impart any knowledge. The acrylic-and-charcoal artwork, set against white backgrounds, keeps the focus on the trucks and the jobs they are doing.
While there are many rhyming truck books out there, this stands out for being a collection of poems. (Picture book/poetry. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 27, 2013
ISBN: 978-0-7636-5078-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 28, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2013
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An uplifting tale that will especially resonate with truck mavens.
In this follow-up to Trash Truck (2020), two good pals keep on truckin’.
Donny, a raccoon, and Walter, a bear, are besties who do everything together, from taking care of dental hygiene (hilariously, Donny brushes using a tree branch, while Walter flosses with a bootlace) to savoring a light dumpster breakfast to taking a bit of exercise (such as running from a swarm of angry bees after Walter steals their honey). “Clever and crafty” Donny and Walter are into subterfuge: To trick a vendor into selling them ice cream, Walter dons an overcoat, and Donny, sporting a fedora, rides atop the bear’s shoulders. Life’s good—except these two have no one to play with. Jump rope’s no fun; if each of them holds one end of the rope, no one can jump. Seesawing is unequally balanced, weight-wise. They don’t have much luck searching for friends, but, ever optimistic, they continue looking. Then, when least expected, two great buddies literally pick them up: It’s Trash Truck and young, blond, pale-skinned Hank! And what adventures follow! Donny and Walter can now jump rope, and the “disguised” ice cream buyers now order four cones. Whether or not readers are already familiar with Trash Truck and Hank from the previous book, they’re in for sprightly fun; the cartoony color illustrations, featuring endearing characters, are filled with giggle-worthy sight gags. Background humans are diverse.
An uplifting tale that will especially resonate with truck mavens. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2024
ISBN: 9780063349414
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Sept. 14, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2024
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