A warm Christmas read and a reminder of the best gifts: friendship, kindness, helpfulness, and cooperation.
The little truck that helped.
Even during a snowfall, Little Red Truck and driver Katie work and make repairs. One after another, six brightly colored vehicles in need stop them, imploring, “Help, Little Red, help!” Observant readers will note each entreaty is enclosed within a speech bubble whose color matches that of the vehicle and its driver’s clothing (except for a silver sleigh steered by a red-suited fellow), helping younger kids hone their color-recognition skills. Additionally, aurally attuned readers may note that, after each seen-to vehicle leaves, the text adds the word down to a key sentence. Thus, after the first vehicle departs, the text reads, “The snow came down”; following the second repair, it reads, “The snow came down and down,” and so on. This correlation heightens children’s number and pattern awareness. Little Red also punctuates each farewell with his onomatopoeic “Honk, honk! Beep, beep!” exclamation. This is a cheery, albeit low-key Christmas story; some visual cues—Santa and a tree borne by Little Red—nod to the holiday. Readers will appreciate the 90-degree book turn required near the end showing the raised tree festooned with bulbs by eager kids. A final scene portrays it encircled by the vehicles; together, they cry out a rainbow-hued “HOORAY!” Katie is pale-skinned; background characters are racially diverse. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A warm Christmas read and a reminder of the best gifts: friendship, kindness, helpfulness, and cooperation. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 10, 2023
ISBN: 9780316333627
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Christy Ottaviano Books
Review Posted Online: Aug. 17, 2023
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 2023
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
Sweet and silly—good enough for Halloween
The barnyard animals love Halloween. Farmer Brown does not. Sounds like the perfect time for tricks and treats!
Since Farmer Brown wants nothing to do with the scary holiday, “he leaves a bowl of candy on the porch….draws the shades and locks the door.” Out in the barn, though, the party is just getting started. Saturated watercolors show Cow dressed as a skeleton, the chickens looking quite ghostly and the sheep donning witch hats. As field mice and cats arrive, creepy sounds begin. The “crunch, crunch, crunching” and the “creak, creak, creaking” lead to a “tap, tap, tapping.” Hearing them, Farmer Brown peeks out his window to investigate. Readers will chuckle and easily recognize “the dark creature standing beneath the trees.” The farmer, however, runs to his bedroom to pull the covers up over his head. Now the sounds repeat, as the figure comes closer. This time, though, the tapping is followed by a “quack, quack, quackle.” Wait—“Quackle??” Farmer Brown goes out to the porch to find the candy bowl gone and a note on the door announcing, “Halloween Party at the barn!” The chorus of onomatopoeic phrases throughout the briskly paced text guarantees an interactive read-aloud, though fans of Duck’s earlier outings will miss their satiric bite.
Sweet and silly—good enough for Halloween . (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Aug. 13, 2013
ISBN: 978-1-4424-6553-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: July 16, 2013
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2013
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends.
Is it a stormy-night scare or a bedtime book? Both!
Little Blue Truck and his good friend Toad are heading home when a storm lets loose. Before long, their familiar, now very nervous barnyard friends (Goat, Hen, Goose, Cow, Duck, and Pig) squeeze into the garage. Blue explains that “clouds bump and tumble in the sky, / but here inside we’re warm and dry, / and all the thirsty plants below / will get a drink to help them grow!” The friends begin to relax. “Duck said, loud as he could quack it, / ‘THUNDER’S JUST A NOISY RACKET!’ ” In the quiet after the storm, the barnyard friends are sleepy, but the garage is not their home. “ ‘Beep!’ said Blue. ‘Just hop inside. / All aboard for the bedtime ride!’ ” Young readers will settle down for their own bedtimes as Blue and Toad drop each friend at home and bid them a good night before returning to the garage and their own beds. “Blue gave one small sleepy ‘Beep.’ / Then Little Blue Truck fell fast asleep.” Joseph’s rich nighttime-blue illustrations (done “in the style of [series co-creator] Jill McElmurry”) highlight the power of the storm and capture the still serenity that follows. Little Blue Truck has been chugging along since 2008, but there seems to be plenty of gas left in the tank.
A sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Oct. 22, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-328-85213-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: June 22, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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