An amusing riff on an old favorite that’ll please many little ones.
The wheel on the bus goes bust.
A red bus filled with all sorts of anthropomorphic animals is chugging along when suddenly: “BANG! Uh-oh!” One of the tires has been punctured, stopping the bus in its tracks. “The driver on the bus says, ‘Off, off, off,’ ” and “the handywoman’s wrench goes click, clack, click” as the text continues in tune with the famous song and the animals figure out what to do with a broken bus. Little readers familiar with the “Wheels on the Bus” will love this new spin on the standard, and caregivers will certainly appreciate a variation on a song they’ve sung more times than they can count. The illustrations are drawn and colored with simplicity, presenting the series of events as plainly as possible in double-page spreads that pull back wide for full view of vehicles and some of the bus’s larger patrons. The animals are a diverse lot, and Willmore has fun with the license granted by the decision to clothe them, painting purple bears and bunnies, a pink hippo, and a blue elephant. The handywoman with her wrench is an extra nice touch, but it’s too bad she doesn’t actually fix that flat.
An amusing riff on an old favorite that’ll please many little ones. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-8075-8869-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Whitman
Review Posted Online: May 27, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2018
May try the patience of antsy little ones, though vehicle fans will be delighted.
A cast of critters as impatient as they are colorful yearn for frozen treats.
In a neighborhood occupied by sweet-toothed beasties, the ice cream truck reigns supreme, but a lengthy roster of vehicles must first pass through this animal kingdom—a dump truck, mail truck, and fire truck, to name just a few. Trucks putter through town to onlookers’ delight and disappointment, and spectators bid each one farewell and wish it good luck—all the while dreaming of the delectable goodies to come. Eagle-eyed readers will know when to expect the ice cream truck’s advent, cleverly foreshadowed in the book’s opening spread. While Runyan’s work is pleasing in its simplicity, with characters rendered in bright watercolors and their homes and greenery depicted in appealing collages, Fairbank’s story drags on a shade too long. Though transportation-loving tots will eagerly exclaim over the various vehicles, others will grow frustrated waiting for the titular truck to arrive. Those seeking to incorporate the book into a storytime may want to practice reading this one aloud first, as some of the verses feel a bit clunky.
May try the patience of antsy little ones, though vehicle fans will be delighted. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: April 29, 2025
ISBN: 9780062842114
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Greenwillow Books
Review Posted Online: March 8, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2025
Should appeal to all the little grump trucks hauling their feelings about.
When dump trucks get angry (really, really angry), head for the hills!
Little Dump Truck is “the happiest member of the construction crew.” Assisting everyone from Excavator to Bulldozer, she hauls her load merrily. But sometimes things just don’t go her way. In rapid succession, dirt is blown in her face, a tire is punctured, and a flock of birds mistake her for a lavatory. Now she’s Little Grump Truck, and the exceedingly poor advice from her co-workers (“Ignore it. You’ll be fine”; “Shake it off!”) pushes her too far. After Little Grump Truck unloads (figuratively and literally) on her colleagues, everyone else has the “grumpies” too. It isn’t until she closes her eyes and focuses that Little Dump Truck is able to clear her mind and lighten her mood. Apologies are in order, and soon everything is humming (for the time being, anyway). Though the narrative doesn’t drill the message home, both child and adult readers alike will hopefully pick up on the fact that pithy aphorisms are maddeningly unhelpful when one is in a bad mood. Gray skies accompany the dump truck’s mood, which is depicted as an ever morphing agglomeration of hard, black scribbles. The accompanying art serves its purpose, investing its trucks with personality via time-honored headlight, windshield-wiper, and grille facial features. Little Dump Truck has a purple cab and green bed and a single lash on each headlight eye. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Should appeal to all the little grump trucks hauling their feelings about. (Picture book. 3-5)Pub Date: Sept. 7, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-593-30081-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2021
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