A sweet lesson in appreciating who we are rather than focusing on what we are not.
At Whizzy Wheels Academy, Daisy the digger learns that everyone has their own role to play and that she’s capable of things she’d never dreamed she could do.
There’s a lot to like in this book for heavy-equipment–loving toddlers. First, it’s durable—close to indestructible, even. Second, author Bently employs a broader vocabulary and more complex sentence structures than in many similarly themed offerings, making it a nice bridge to traditional picture books. It’s also nice to see a book for truck-loving tots that skews away from gender stereotyping of its characters and audience; here, there are no fewer than three named heavy-equipment characters with traditionally female names: Daisy, Clare the crane, and Tess the tractor. (Daisy and Clare both explicitly use feminine pronouns.) The story effectively deals with themes of handling disappointment, feeling left out, overcoming a lack of confidence, and recognizing that people (and trucks) have different strengths and weaknesses. When academy instructor Rusty announces that the vehicles will be taking a trip off the grounds to practice driving on real roads, Daisy’s excited until she learns that her heavy tracks aren’t built for roads. But when a landslide strands her friends, Daisy finds her heavy treads make her ideal to come to the rescue. Companion title Dylan the Dump Truck publishes simultaneously and introduces both Dylan and Emma the excavator.
A sweet lesson in appreciating who we are rather than focusing on what we are not. (Board book. 2-5)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-71124-332-3
Page Count: 20
Publisher: QEB Publishing
Review Posted Online: Oct. 8, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2019
All aboard for a spooktacularly sleepy ride!
The goodnight train is back for a not-so-scary fourth installment.
The nighttime locomotive travels through an autumnal landscape that’s bursting with Halloween tropes. As in the previous stories, bed-shaped cars are hooked up for a train ride; here, three diverse children are dressed in their Halloween finest as a skeleton, a princess, and a bee. Fans of the series will find the usual perks of a solid rhyme scheme, additional words and sounds peppering the illustrations, and pages of yawning creatures signaling that it’s time for bed. Those unfamiliar with the series will also find the book amusing, but readers who really love Halloween—or spooky things like bats, ghosts, and black cats—will enjoy it the most. As with the other installments in this series, educators and librarians will find this useful for seasonal book displays and storytimes but will probably keep it out year-round because it checks many of the boxes that signal a solid addition to any board-book library. Die-cut circles of various sizes are sprinkled across the double-page spreads, giving caregivers a chance to test young readers’ predictive skills while providing small hints at what’s to come. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
All aboard for a spooktacularly sleepy ride! (Board book. 2-5)Pub Date: July 12, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-3586-2607-7
Page Count: 12
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
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To quote one particularly joyous double-page spread, “Oh, what a ride!”
A succession of forest creatures—and even the river itself—learn from one another and validate their relationships with both one another and the wider world.
The simplicity of the text and the stylized, comical creatures belie the depth of the message that comes through for even the youngest of readers: We are all in this together, and our differences strengthen our unity. The river “didn’t know it was a river…until” Bear accidentally begins riding down it on a piece of broken tree trunk. Bear in turn doesn’t realize he is on an adventure until Froggy lands on his back; lonely Froggy doesn’t know how many friends she has until the wary Turtles show up on the ever-more-swiftly-moving log; the Turtles learn how to enjoy the ride when Beaver climbs aboard; and so on through several more characters until they are all at the brink of a waterfall. Outstanding art perfectly complements the text, showing the animals’ differing personalities while also using color, space, and patterns to create appealing scenery. There are several hilarious double-page spreads, including one from the animals’ collective perspective, showing solely the various feet on the tree-trunk–cum-raft at the waterfall’s edge, and one requiring a 90-degree turn, showing the plummeting animals as they reach for one another—some looking worried and others, like Duck and Beaver, obviously enjoying the sudden drop.
To quote one particularly joyous double-page spread, “Oh, what a ride!” (author’s note, illustrator’s note) (Picture book. 2-5)Pub Date: June 4, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-316-46447-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: March 11, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2019
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PERSPECTIVES
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