Smash! Mash! Crash! There Goes the Trash! [Hardcover]

Barbara Odanaka (Author)

Book Description

Release date: October 10, 2006 | Age Range: 4 and up

THE GARBAGE TRUCKS

ARE HERE TODAY!

Smashing, mashing,

lights a-flashing,

gobblin' garbage,

GULPITY-GULP.

From castaway furniture to last night's leftovers, no job is too big or too small for this rugged team. With an upbeat, rhythmic text, Smash! Mash! Crash! There Goes the Trash! follows two garbage trucks on their route. What results is a stinky, roaring, rumbling mess -- and LOADS OF FUN!

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

PreSchool-Grade 1–Rhythmic, rhyming language abounds as two piglets welcome the early-morning arrival of a pair of Rumbling, roaring garbage trucks. All of the offal details are here as the green behemoths gobble up everything from apple cores and dirty diapers to broken furniture. Smiling porcine workers, with Greasy gloves…sticky boots…/stains a-plenty on their suits, feed the beasts while Flies a-buzzin'/by the dozen enjoy a feast at the rolling bug buffet. After completing all of the Crushing,/cramming,/screeching,/slamming, the vehicles thunder away, leaving the youngsters to re-create the action with their toy replicas. Done in ink and egg tempera on canvas, the vivacious two-page paintings convey the text's enthusiasm and energy. The trucks, shown from the rear and personified with mouthlike hoppers and red brakelight eyes, gleefully munch their way through an array of vividly colored refuse. The pigs are appealing, and readers can follow the antics of their dogs as they rush outside to be part of the fun. Pair this onomatopoeic offering with other tongue-tingling read-alouds, such as Kate McMullan's I Stink! (2002) and Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha's Trashy Town (1999, both HarperCollins), for a crash-bang storytime on a perennially popular topic.–Joy Fleishhacker,School Library Journal
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

Another book about garbage trucks? Well, yes, but instead of focusing on a swaggering, loudmouthed vehicle, as Kate McMullan does in I Stink! (2002), this book stars a couple of pigs. Leaping out of bed early in the morning, the pigs watch two garbage trucks groaning, gobbling, and grinding as they make their noisy rounds. Hillenbrand's textured illustrations, in egg tempera and ink on canvas, depict the machines as giant, mechanical toads on wheels. The midnight-blue background gradually lightens to cream as daylight comes and the garbage workers (also pigs) pick up their loads, including cast-off furniture and dirty diapers. After the big buildup, the end is rather tame, but the rhyming text is as descriptive as the art ("Gooey, gloppy. / Slimy, sloppy. / Truck's a rolling bug buffet. / Flies a-buzzin' by the dozen-- / lapping up that cheese souffle").^B The antics^B of three dogs drooling after the trucks in anticipation of fallout extend the comedy. Julie Cummins
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books (October 10, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068985160X
• ISBN-13: 978-0689851605
• Product Dimensions: 11.4 x 10.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #21,372 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #25 in Books > Children's Books > Travel & Cultures > Where We Live > City Life
  • #31 in Books > Children's Books > Education & Reference > Careers

More About the Author

Hi!

My name is Barbara Odanaka.

I am a children's book author, skateboarder and founder of the 501c3 nonprofit Skateboard Moms.

Before I wrote for children, I was a sports reporter at the Los Angeles Times. I decided to switch careers when I found I had a difficulty writing sports stories without rhyming!

In 1994, my husband and I backpacked around the world on $30 a day. We scuba dived with sharks in Fiji, trekked through the Himalayas in Nepal, and sat with mountain gorillas in central Africa.

Today, I channel my energies into fun and lively books for children who like a lot of imagination in their reading. My latest book, A Crazy Day At The Critter Cafe, features a skateboarding cow. I have been having lots of fun visiting schools, libraries and skateboard parks dressed as Skateboard Cow!

You can find out more about my books and me by visiting my website, www.skateboardmom.com

Thanks and happy reading!

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

48 of 48 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Rollicking Read November 20, 2009

By Danielle McClellan

Format:Hardcover

My three-year-old son and I are serious students of contemporary garbage truck literature and this book has quickly become our favorite. Barbara Odanaka's writing is a hoot to read aloud and the rhyme scheme keeps things hopping. Witty, short bursts of language on each page helps me avoid the evil-parent temptation to skip over words or (gasp) pages in hopes of moving things along, even on the 99th time around.

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars SMASH MASH FUN!!!! March 12, 2008

By Dan McKinnon VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

'Smash! Mash! Crash! There Goes the Trash!' is my favorite book that I read with my daughter. Perfect for kids of all ages, the story is simple and rhymes well. Artwork jumps off the page and there are portions of artwork that all kids will laugh at and it's the kind of silly pictures you have never seen before (I will not spoil it for you)!!! I stumbled upon this gem in the library and we loved it so much I had to order it for my daughter. Since that time it has become Daddy/daughter book #1 on the shelf. Takes about 1-2 minutes to read, it's perfect for a short story or an anytime story. If you have young kids, read to them often and add this to your collection!!!!

***** HIGHEST POSSIBLE RECOMMENDATION

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderfully Trashy Book June 15, 2009

By M. Allen Greenbaum HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

Somehow author Babrbara Odanaka and illustrator WIll HIllenbrand have gotten insides the heads of the toddler set in this energetic and funny story about trash day. It brings back a lot of memories: Both as a father and as a kid, I saw how trashmen (and now, women) held a mysterious fascination for anyone who got up early enough to see them ride herd on a massive truck, overturning EVERYONE's garbage cans, and making a huge racket in the otherwise quiet dawn--and they didn't even get in trouble for it. It's alive, and also larger-than-life, just the way a toddler might feel about this mighty, mouthy truck:

"Down the street--hey, look, it's there! Truck just chomped a broken chair." A tongue and (yellow) teeth appear as the garbage pigs throw wonderfully stinky, trashy, silly things towards it's hungry mouth. Yet, neither the massive pigs nor the animated colossal truck are scary. The three dogs and two little pigs run excitedly around, delighted by this socially acceptable messy action:

"Stinky diapers? Coffee grounds? Load it UP and smash it DOWN... "Gooey, gloppy.Slimy, sloppy. Truck's a rolling bug buffet. Flies a-buzzin' by the dozen--lapping up that cheese souffle (pictured in the mouth of the truck!).

The rhymes don't skirt the issue--this IS garbage, after all--but it never feels gross or artificial. WIth the exception of "souffle," the words are easy to understand and the poetic narrative is both funny and unforced. Hillenbrand uses egg tempura and ink on canvas; the textures he achieves convey so much dimension that at first I thought he used collage as well. THe book moves as quickly as those early morning garbage collectors of one's youth. THe early morning escapade flows seamlessly into the animal kids' next activity... "Come on, let's play!..." Fortunately, they own some mini-garbage trucks--it's gonna be a FUN day at this house!

Beautifully drawn trashscapes and an exuberant cast and narrative elevate this trashy tale. HIghly recommended! Read more ›

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Smash Mash Crash January 31, 2009

By Melissa Candler

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

A fabulous book for my 2 1/2 year old son who is obsessed with all things trash. It is an easy read and we have read it so much, that he can read bits and pieces (or repeat them) to us.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for read-alouds. December 9, 2006

By Midwest Book Review

Format:Hardcover

SMASH! MASH! CRASH! THERE GOES THE TRASH! By Barbara Odanaka will prove a delight for any child, urban or rural, familiar with the early wake-up call of the garbage truck. A rhythmic and noisy text filled with appealing sounds follows two garbage trucks on their route - and dogs, pigs, and more who can't wait for them to arrive! Perfect for read-alouds.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Melodic, fun, real life September 27, 2007

By NoName

Format:Hardcover

This book captures the excitement of my toddler son on garbage day, and puts it into a book. He loves reading it. He loves comparing it to his own experiences. It uses descriptive language that he now incorporates into his everyday life. Great book!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Cute January 6, 2013

By Christine

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

My grandson was fascinated. The trash trucks waking the kids and the dogs following the trucks really brought the story home. Fantastic pictures. Cute kids and dogs and really yucky garbage.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A New Favorite February 27, 2011

By Victoria

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

My toddler loves this book! He tries to read along, and we can't read it less than 3x in a row.