Customer Reviews

Trucks Board Book

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My son has recently started saying "truck," and he says it every time he sees or hears a truck (or any other vehicle, for that matter). So I got this book yesterday, and he's already developed a near-obsession with it. We spent 25 minutes (a long time for a toddler) just turning the pages and looking at it this morning, sometimes with me reading, and sometimes with him just exclaiming "truck!" and pointing to every truck on every page. And then this afternoon we read it, oh, 25 times conservatively speaking. My son really wasn't that interested in books at all before a couple of weeks ago, so his fixation on this book is kind of funny. I think we'll get the Machines at Work book next.

"Trucks," by Byron Barton, is an educational treat for the youngest readers. A very simple text accompanies colorful illustrations of many kinds of trucks. We see a garbage truck, delivery truck, tow truck, dump truck, cement mixer, and more. The artwork of this book is distinctive: the crisp illustrations have an almost mathematical precision to them, and are rich in contrasting colors. I give the book an enthusiastic recommendation.

How wonderful it is to have a book that your child wants to read several times a day! My son loves all the different types of trucks and what it is they are doing. I love that it is starting to teach him things like "over" and "through". Please also try "Trains" and "Boats" by the same author, you will enjoy!

There really isn't much to this simple board book (other editions are currently out of print)--just some simple, geometric drawings in primary colors with a text consisting of basic words in short sentences. But what a great jump into books!

My two-year-old son loves to read this book over and over. We start with the text and then "read" the pictures. ("Where's the purple one going? In the tunnel? That's right!") My son knows all the words and "helps" me read it, which makes him quite proud of himself--and me of him.

This is a straightforward educational board book presenting different types of trucks and their activities, rendered in chunky concept-drawings, with minimal text. Most little boys go through a stage of being fascinated with trucks, and this was one of the first books I have used to introduce the different functions and shapes that trucks can take. Kids will outgrow it quickly, though, since it lacks detail for them to grow into; if you can only get one book about vehicles, get Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things that Go. But if you're looking for a fresh temporary read for your truck-fascinated toddler, do pick this up at the library.

My two-year old son loves this book. He knows all of the trucks and can 'read' most of the book. When we are driving, he'll occasionally recite a line from the book when he sees a truck. He also loves Barton's 'Planes,' 'Trains,' and 'Boats.'

My 18 month old daughter loves this book. I think she is attracted to the bold illustrations and she's very interested in trucks. It has a short sentence on each page. ("Here come the trucks" "They go over the bridge" "Here is a truck working all night long") She reads it several times a day and asks me to read it to her sometimes as well.

Like "Boats," "Planes," and "Machines At Work," "Trucks" is a household favorite.

My Daughter (19 mo now) loves to read, and the Barton books are some of her very favorites. "Trucks" is perhaps her very favorite at the moment. She could hear it read 200 times a day.

It has the same characteristic bold, bright illustrations as most of Barton's other books. "Trucks" features a whole collection of trucks that we see around town quite regularly, like the tow truck and the garbage truck and the icecream truck. My daughter's favorite is the cement truck. She stares at that page for minutes, and when we happened to see a cement mixer in real life, she squealed, she was so excited!

The words are simple and direct, like the pictures.

Though I've seen Barton's simplicity criticized, I see it as a winning trait. The images captivate a young child. As for the words, my daughter is already trying to read from these books, and she's not even two. With such simple, short sentences, she can actually "read" along with me, and she is already able to say whole sentences out of this book. It's adorable! (I'm very proud!)

I recommend these books for any little kid who likes vehicles or who likes to sit and read, but who is not yet old enough for the long attention of more wordy stories.

The Turkeybird Speaks (My son's opinion, age 3): "Now this is the part where I tell you to pull up a chair and your favorite snack so you can settle into a great book. Does it really get any better than trucks, planes, and trains? I would say not! They move, they have wheels, they go fast and they do all sorts of fun things. I especially liked reading my plane book when we traveled cross country to our new home. It was neat to look out the window and see the same sky that I was looking at in my book. These books are a must have for every home. Go get them!"

Mom's Two Cents: "I have to agree with The Turkeybird and the publishers summary. We initially purchased the Trucks book when he was very little and it instantly became a favorite. Now that he is quite a bit older (at least two years have passed) he still picks them out of our full bookshelf. As he mentioned, we traveled by plane this last summer to move from the DC area to California and the Planes book was a huge hit! There are images of people getting on and off planes in the book and because of the small airport we initially left from, we were able to get aboard the plane just as they did in the book, which he loved! And though you would think these books wouldn't appeal to girls, even The Littlebug picked the Plane book out yesterday as her book of choice.

"Now, onto the technical side of the book. What I, as a parent, really like about these books are the simple text and straight forward images. It's not going to be the most beautiful book on your shelf, nor will the words be drawn out and elaborate, but it still holds an entertainment and educational value I can't deny. Each page has between 3 to 5 words with a simple illustration demonstrating the text. For smaller kids it can often times be overwhelming to have a book filled with words and dramatic images, but these books though not elegant are still captivating. I highly recommend these books for beginning readers and even for older children who may need a respite between larger, more complicated books."

My three year old son loves this series of books. He got the boats one about a year ago and I just purchased a few more of the titles for him and he loves them!