Dumbleton’s extremely spare text follows the series of near misses Cat is involved in throughout the day and night. Cat tries unsuccessfully to catch both a mouse and a bird. He is also chased by a dog, soaked by a sprinkler and nearly hit by a child on a bicycle. All ends well, as he finally completes his rough day by settling down on his favorite rug by a roaring fire. An appealing feature of this book is that early readers can easily read the text: “Dog. / Dog. Cat. / Tall tree. Thank goodness for that.” The illustrations in gouache and pen-and-ink depict the humans realistically, but the animals are somewhat unpleasantly exaggerated. Cartoonish and slightly scary, they’re clearly meant to stand apart from the humans. While Cat certainly does behave like a real cat, there is something about the illustrations that makes Cat a rather unlikable figure. Not for all tastes. (Picture book. 2-6)
Pub Date: March 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-1-933605-73-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Kane Miller
Review Posted Online: June 24, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2008
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS
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BOOK REVIEW
Sutton’s latest is a truck-lover’s dream come true—repetition, rhyme and onomatopoeia form the text, while construction trucks vie for readers’ attention in the illustrations. The result is a wonderfully noisy look at how roads are built. From a line on a map and an empty field to the finished road complete with lights and signs, youngsters will be able to follow all the steps, learning all the vehicles that take part in the process (a final page introduces readers to each one). “Pack the ground. Pack the ground. / Roll one way, then back. / Make the roadbed good and hard. / Clang! Crunch! Crack!” Lovelock’s debut certainly makes an impression. His pigmented ink illustrations keep the focus on the machines and the individual parts they play in building the road. The level of detail matches the text’s intended audience—enough to satisfy, not so much as to overwhelm. Pave the way to this book’s shelf; perfect for read-alouds, it will be a hit whether shared with a group or one-on-one. (Picture book. 2-5)
Pub Date: July 1, 2008
ISBN: 978-0-7636-3912-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Candlewick
Review Posted Online: May 20, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2008
Categories: CHILDREN'S CONCEPTS | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION
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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 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION
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