Don’t duck this picture book.
A story with limited text, nearly unlimited trucks, a picnicking goose, and a bevy of adorable animals.
Sauer embeds bespectacled Goose’s picnic to-do list into the copyright-page illustration: “Choose picnic spot. / Pack a big lunch. / Take everything I need.” Otherwise, the text is mostly limited to repetitions of the word “Truck” with the occasional “Goose!” in emulation of the familiar children’s game. The picnic spot Goose chooses is on a grassy area at the center of a nearby traffic circle, and Goose comically takes three cartloads of supplies from home, including a big red piano. Various kinds of trucks driven by other anthropomorphic animals drive around the circle while Goose plods along with his loads, but the “Truck… / Truck… / Truck…” traffic halts when the red piano falls into the road. Goose seems unbothered and sets up a picnic, donning headphones and sunglasses to relax. The animal drivers, however, are frustrated by the ensuing traffic jam until a new truck affixed with a crane comes and moves it. Exultant, the animals’ joy is only heightened by the arrival of a new truck on the scene—this time an ice cream truck driven by not another Goose but “MOOSE!” Waring’s bright, digital cartoon illustrations include pleasingly rounded, expressive characters that add great humor to the text, while the illustrated trucks, unnamed by the limited text, invite identification by listeners.
Don’t duck this picture book. (Picture book. 1-4)Pub Date: Aug. 15, 2017
ISBN: 978-0-06-242153-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Harper/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 23, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2017
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.
Little Blue Truck and his pal Toad meet friends old and new on a springtime drive through the country.
This lift-the-flap, interactive entry in the popular Little Blue Truck series lacks the narrative strength and valuable life lessons of the original Little Blue Truck (2008) and its sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009). Both of those books, published for preschoolers rather than toddlers, featured rich storylines, dramatic, kinetic illustrations, and simple but valuable life lessons—the folly of taking oneself too seriously, the importance of friends, and the virtue of taking turns, for example. At about half the length and with half as much text as the aforementioned titles, this volume is a much quicker read. Less a story than a vernal celebration, the book depicts a bucolic drive through farmland and encounters with various animals and their young along the way. Beautifully rendered two-page tableaux teem with butterflies, blossoms, and vibrant pastel, springtime colors. Little Blue greets a sheep standing in the door of a barn: “Yoo-hoo, Sheep! / Beep-beep! / What’s new?” Folding back the durable, card-stock flap reveals the barn’s interior and an adorable set of twin lambs. Encounters with a duck and nine ducklings, a cow with a calf, a pig with 10 (!) piglets, a family of bunnies, and a chicken with a freshly hatched chick provide ample opportunity for counting and vocabulary work.
Uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come. (Board book. 1-4)Pub Date: Jan. 2, 2018
ISBN: 978-0-544-93809-0
Page Count: 16
Publisher: HMH Books
Review Posted Online: March 3, 2018
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2018
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
An upbeat Easter outing with a beloved character.
Pookie celebrates Easter with a play date and holiday activities.
Pookie’s friend Bean, a gray puppy, comes over for Easter fun that includes lots of bouncing around and egg decorating. After Bean goes home, Pookie gets excited about the Easter Bunny’s arrival and goes to sleep dreaming of a large chocolate egg. Like the other Pookie books before it, this one is told in rhyme from the perspective of a loving grown-up addressing the little pig, which keeps the pace moving and makes for a great read-aloud. Bean and Pookie are realistically—and endearingly—childlike, from Pookie’s pronunciation of yellow as “lellow!” to the joyful mess they make while decorating eggs. There are plenty of sweet and festive touches, such as the bunny ears that Bean and Pookie (and Pookie’s teddy) wear and the daffodils painted on the end of Pookie’s bed. The illustrations include large, full-page images as well as smaller vignettes against solid backgrounds. One page shows Pookie and parent looking out the window at the moon, anticipating Easter’s spoils. For fans of Boynton and little Pookie, this Easter tale is exactly as expected: a touch of playfulness, a relatable story, and comfort in the familiar. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
An upbeat Easter outing with a beloved character. (Board book. 2-4)Pub Date: Jan. 31, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-66592-838-0
Page Count: 18
Publisher: Boynton Bookworks
Review Posted Online: Oct. 25, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2022
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