Well beyond Dick and Jane, this beginning reader makes learning seem effortless and fun. The jaunty layout of bright, crisp photographs and flowing font stand out before the textured, colorful backdrops. Each spread is devoted to a particular moving machine that one would find on the road, like cars, fire trucks, school buses and even bicycles, which are “ . . . fun to do and healthy, too.” Many pages offer brief highlights that identify parts of the vehicle, pointing out the cab or radiator of a semi-truck, for instance. The text is light and lilting, maintaining a balance between challenging and amusing. To further the learning benefits there is a section called, “Reading Together,” which offers suggestions such as identifying rhymes and making up one’s own. Also included are sections devoted to a brief dictionary, key words to use in a sentence and six questions titled, “What Do You Know?” for reading comprehension. This book works on many levels: visually, conceptually and educationally, enhancing this already successful Scholastic series. (Easy reader/nonfiction. 4-7)
Pub Date: March 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-545-00720-7
Page Count: 30
Publisher: Cartwheel/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2008
BOOK REVIEW
Part of a spate of books intent on bringing the garbage collectors in children’s lives a little closer, this almost matches...
Listeners will quickly take up the percussive chorus—“Dump it in, smash it down, drive around the Trashy town! Is the trash truck full yet? NO”—as they follow burly Mr. Gilly, the garbage collector, on his rounds from park to pizza parlor and beyond.
Flinging cans and baskets around with ease, Mr. Gilly dances happily through streetscapes depicted with loud colors and large, blocky shapes; after a climactic visit to the dump, he roars home for a sudsy bath.
Part of a spate of books intent on bringing the garbage collectors in children’s lives a little closer, this almost matches Eve Merriam’s Bam Bam Bam (1995), also illustrated by Yaccarino, for sheer verbal and visual volume. (Picture book. 5-7)Pub Date: April 30, 1999
ISBN: 0-06-027139-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 1999
Kids will come for the construction vehicles and leave with some social-emotional skills.
Anthropomorphic trucks and construction vehicles work through big feelings.
“I’m Cranky,” announces a yellow crane—that’s our protagonist’s name and state of mind. It’s a big day at the construction site; everyone’s completing work on the construction of a new bridge. Friends like Zippy the cement mixer and Wheezy the forklift encourage Cranky to cheer up. But their positivity only makes Cranky feel worse. Cranky eats alone at lunch and feels increasingly isolated as the day goes on. When Zippy and Wheezy express concern, Cranky suddenly becomes even more upset: “Asking me what’s wrong makes me feel like it’s not okay for me to be cranky!” The others back off, and slowly, the grouchy crane’s mood starts to improve. And the friends are right there when Cranky is ready to open up. Bright colors, adorably anthropomorphic vehicles, and layouts that alternate between vignettes and full-page spreads will hold readers’ attention through what is a mostly introspective narrative. Tran imparts some solid messages, such as the importance of giving pals the space they need and communicating your needs, even if you choose not to share everything. Some of the nuance will be lost on younger readers, but the story will spark conversations with others. Construction puns such as “self-of-steam” should get some chuckles from older kids and adults.
Kids will come for the construction vehicles and leave with some social-emotional skills. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 6, 2024
ISBN: 9780063256286
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Nov. 4, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 1, 2023
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