Customer Reviews

Here Comes Darrell

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Some kids will think that "Darrell" refers to the hard-working truck In Leda Schubert's tribute to people and seasons of Vermont. While it's true that the real "Darrell" is the craggy faced construction worker/handyman/good neighbor who drives the old pickup, truck-loving kids can enjoy plenty of four-wheeled action. ALong with the pickup (which is red in one scene, and blue in all the others--where's the continuity?) Darrell's uses a big yellow backhoe to move dirt, make a swimming hole, and scoop up Buster, the family dog who chases a ball right into the big hole.

Schubert's sentences are economical yet imaginative: The backhoe is a large machine, but Darrell is an artist. If a hammer drops on the ground, he can pick it up as if he's using tweezers." The evocative writing allows us to imagine ourselves in Darell's big snowboots, rising at 4 am with Buster, and clearing 21 snow-covered driveways by 7 am. As he does so, "porch lights flash in thanks, and he blink his headlights back. HIs stomach growls as he glimpses a neighbor making breakfast.

SOme might call this book old-fashioned, even sentimental, and that's exactly why they might like it. Thematically, the book touches on being a good neighbor, the necessity of cooperation in harsh climates, and the gladly-given reciprocity that attends a good man doing a good job. (Women largely take a backseat here, they're shown making food and washing clothes, although they also help the men get the truck out of the pud ("the dirt roads are like chocolate pudding." During a storm, Darrell is so busy fixing the neighbors wind-shaken houses that he doesn't have time to heed his wife's warning about their own collapsing barn roof. In time-honored tradition, all the neighbors that Darrell helped come over for a "roof raising," and the crew all gets a hot supper of stew and pie.

Aside from the backhoe and a digital alarm clock, the pictures and story could have taken place anytime in at least the last 50 or 60 years. While this nebulous setting may unsettle some youngsters, it can also be adapted to many time periods. Mary Azarian's illustrations look like old woodcuts. Wait--they are woodcuts! Lined faces and wind-tossed jair are handsomely unglamorous, clothing and the Vermont countryside are authentic (the book covers four seasons, with a beautiful picture of vibrant autumn trees. THe only season that doesn't really get its due is Spring, but Ms. Schubert captures the hopeful feelings of the season (unless you're a T.S. Eliot fan) when Darrell tells a family unable to pay him that they can just do it later.

Without preaching, moralizing, or self-congratulation, the book shows both the necessity and the intrinsic and extrinsic rewards of doing work that serves others. ALthough there are some moments of excitement (those trucks!), it's mostly a quiet work, good for classroom reading and units on weather, as well as toddlers and young grade schoolers home snuggle time.

My 3-year-old loved this book. He is very verbal for his age, and loves cars and trucks and machines. He thought Darrell's adventures were very exciting and loved his machines. I enjoyed this book more than most "machine" books because of the nice story of community service and the beautiful illustrations.

This is a great book about seasons in Vermont. It is great for my grandson who loves trucks and construction equipment. This book about helping others has a pickup truck, a dump truck and a backhoe that is sure to please any young child.

So many contemporary picture books fail to tell a story and rely instead on the pictures. This book balances beautifully the saga of the activities of Darrell, a handyman in a northern rural community, with well-executed woodcuts that show him, his environment, and his neighbors. From the title page, with a spectacular back hoe, to the final spread, the book affirms the life of a caring individual and the ways in which people depend on each other. Ideal for the classroom, for home schools, or for individual reading -- with particular interest to parents desperate for books about machinery. If you love Vermont, you'll definitely want to add this tribute to the Vermont way of life to your personal collection.