by Patrick Moore & illustrated by Patrick Moore ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 1, 2006
Labeling everything from the dirt hopper to the safety light, the endpapers set the stage with basic blueprints of the street sweeper. “The biggest, fastest, most powerful truck . . . is not the street sweeper.” So it begins, and in spare words, spends the next several pages detailing what this machine isn’t by contrasting it with other work vehicles. The bulldozer pushes things out of the way while the sweeper must go around; the electromagnetic crane can pick up two-ton automobiles, but the sweeper can pick up, well, a gum wrapper; and the sweeper can only squirt a small puddle of water compared to the tons of concrete a boom pump can jet. The reader’s heart softens towards this underdog until reminded that the street sweeper, too, has a very specialized and unique job. The illustrations deliver creamy colors corralled by clean lines. The vehicles are drawn within uncluttered landscapes and all driven by wee animals that care for them with pride. In this little delight, Moore honors the common, but far from average, making even the most ordinary seem extraordinary. (Picture book. 3-5)
Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2006
ISBN: 0-8050-7789-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Henry Holt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2006
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by Edward Miller ; illustrated by Edward Miller ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 4, 2022
Smoother rides are out there.
Mommy and Bonnie—two anthropomorphic rodents—go for a joyride and notice a variety of conveyances around their busy town.
The pair encounter 22 types of vocational vehicles as they pass various sites, including a fire engine leaving a firehouse, a school bus approaching a school, and a tractor trailer delivering goods to a supermarket. Narrated in rhyming quatrains, the book describes the jobs that each wheeled machine does. The text uses simple vocabulary and sentences, with sight words aplenty. Some of the rhymes don't scan as well as others, and the description of the mail truck’s role ("A mail truck brings / letters and cards / to mailboxes / in people's yards) ignores millions of readers living in yardless dwellings. The colorful digitally illustrated spreads are crowded with animal characters of every type hustling and bustling about. Although the art is busy, observant viewers may find humor in details such as a fragile item falling out of a moving truck, a line of ducks holding up traffic, and a squirrel’s spilled ice cream. For younger children enthralled by vehicles, Sally Sutton’s Roadwork (2011) and Elizabeth Verdick’s Small Walt series provide superior text and art and kinder humor. Children who have little interest in cars, trucks, and construction equipment may find this offering a yawner. Despite being advertised as a beginner book, neither text nor art recommend this as an engaging choice for children starting to read independently. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Smoother rides are out there. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Jan. 4, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-37725-3
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Random House
Review Posted Online: Nov. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2021
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by Leslie Kimmelman ; illustrated by Barbara Bakos ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2018
The lack of real excitement will make these helpers fade from memory like sirens on a distant road.
Part emergency adventure, part reassurance that help is on the way—youngsters fascinated by vehicles with sirens will be attracted to this board book.
Straightforward, declarative text and fanciful, somewhat futuristic pictures describe “a big beautiful world, filled with awesome adventures.” The second spread previews the helpers and their vehicles with profile views of six types of vehicles against a clean white background. The final spread shows front views of the same six rescue vehicles. In between, spreads focus on three different emergencies. In a busy spread headlined “Uh-oh, an accident,” readers see a police car, an ambulance, and a tow truck, while a police helicopter hovers overhead. “Uh-oh, a storm!” shows the water-based versions of emergency vehicles against a rain-gray background. “Uh-oh, a fire!” focuses on firefighters, with police and EMTs playing supporting roles. All the vehicles are staffed by smiling animal characters reminiscent of Richard Scarry’s Busytown creatures but without the whimsy of those classics. The final text proclaims that “helpers…are the ones who save the world.” The wordy text and detailed pictures make this board book most suited for older toddlers intrigued by emergency vehicles, but the placid delivery is out of sync with the notion that the depicted world is in peril.
The lack of real excitement will make these helpers fade from memory like sirens on a distant road. (Board book. 3-4)Pub Date: May 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-1-5344-0599-8
Page Count: 14
Publisher: Little Simon/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 22, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
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