Though the book is unquestionably well-meaning, it just doesn’t work except as a vocabulary builder.
This bilingual spinoff of “The Wheels on the Bus” features many of the vehicles associated with community helpers.
In addition to the titular (school) bus, readers are introduced to the Spanish-language names for “ambulance,” “fire truck,” “train,” and so on. It works pretty well in English: “The alarm on the fire truck goes woo-ooo-ooo,” etc. Unfortunately, the nearly total lack of meter in the Spanish verses makes them awkward to sing: “La alarma del camión de bomberos hace uuuah uuuah uuuah.” A superfluous bus screech at the beginning and end also detracts from the song’s rhythm. A suspension of disbelief is necessary when the driver drops the children off not at school or even back at their homes, where they were first picked up, but at the park—where the children play at driving the vehicles they have just seen at a carnival. Except for substituting “all through the park” for “all through the town” in the recapitulation of verses near the end, the transition from school-bus ride to carnival rides is too abrupt. The story continues for four additional pages with the song all but forgotten as the children run to buy ice cream. Cepeda’s lively and familiar illustrations are the highlights in this multicultural neighborhood excursion. A musical score and nonphonetic glossary are included.
Though the book is unquestionably well-meaning, it just doesn’t work except as a vocabulary builder. (Bilingual picture book. 3-8)Pub Date: Sept. 15, 2015
ISBN: 978-0-8234-3442-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Holiday House
Review Posted Online: May 5, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Not astonishingly go-out-and-buy-it-at-graduation inspirational, but all it takes is one seed of change to be planted.
Imagination soars—quite literally—when a little girl follows her own set of rules.
Every year Oak Hill School has a go-kart race called the Going Places contest. Students are given identical go-kart kits with a precise set of instructions. And of course, every single kart ends up exactly the same. Every one, that is, except Maya’s. Maya is a dreamy artist, and she would rather sketch birds in her backyard than get caught up in the competition. When she finally does start working, she uses the parts in the go-kart box but creates something completely different. No one ever said it had to be a go-kart. Maya’s creative thinking inspires Rafael, her neighbor (and the most enthusiastic Going Places contestant), to ask to team up. The instructions never say they couldn’t work together, either! An ode to creativity and individuality to be sure, but the Reynolds brothers are also taking a swipe at modern education: Endless repetition and following instructions without question create a culture of conformity. Hopefully now, readers will see infinite possibility every time the system hands them an identical go-kart box.
Not astonishingly go-out-and-buy-it-at-graduation inspirational, but all it takes is one seed of change to be planted. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-6608-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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
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