From School Library Journal
PreSchool-Grade 1—Trucks of all different sizes and colors roll along roadways carrying realistic and imaginary cargo. Four-line rhyming verses describe the vehicles, their loads, and the stops they make: "Trucks have trailers./Trucks have cabs./Some haul rabbits./Some haul labs" (the illustration shows Labrador Retrievers). The narrative occasionally diverts from the rhythmic pattern of the shorter, snappier rhymes: "Haul them through mountains,/over rivers, past towns—/around blue sky curves,/through rain pouring down." The trucks transport apples, giant chocolate-chip cookies, bulldozers, large puzzle pieces, and more. The side of one semi reads "Bookmobile." Frazier's hand- and digitally colored artwork pairs well with the text. His use of bold colors and varied perspectives enhance the illustrations. The orange endpapers look like a metal running board, reflecting the book's theme. Kids who love trucks will be attracted to the cover and have fun exploring the pages inside.—
Lynn K. Vanca, Akron-Summit County Public Library, Richfield, OH Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Can there ever be enough truck books? With a simple playful rhyme and big, bright pictures of powerful vehicles close up, this one is sure to be in demand. The word is
BIG, not only for the vehicles but also for their trailers and wheels and other parts; for all the different loads they carry, from spaceships to toys: "Trucks bring ice cream. / Trucks bring blocks, / books and bulldozers, dolls and clocks." Then there are the vast distances they travel, with immense power, through mountains, over rivers, past towns. Look closely; the gas pumps look almost human, the truck wheels like smiling faces. After many read-alouds, lap-sit listeners will still want to point at the pictures and play.
Hazel RochmanCopyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
