A little car’s fears are put to the ultimate test.
A bevy of beautiful new anthropomorphic cars eagerly board their respective transport trucks. But not Axle. He’s afraid. No-nonsense Earlene, Axle’s transport truck, manages to get him to the car dealership with everyone else, but next thing you know, he’s cowering on top of her, begging to go back to the factory. Undeterred, Earlene takes Axle into the flatlands, foothills, and mountains, where he gains confidence in his motoring skills. And when Earlene experiences a flat on the way back, Axle now has the courage to find help. While the book attempts to promote self-confidence, this message is muddled in its delivery. Just what is the book trying to say about fear? Axle’s are never named—Earlene just assumes he needs “practice” on the road—which makes conquering them all the more complicated. And while Earlene’s training montage is nice, is the book implying that a skill must be mastered before trying anything new? Later, when Axle smells “burning” late in the book, Earlene’s tire may be the reason, but this fact is never explained to young readers. Accompanying art is consistently colorful and upbeat if unimaginatively Cars-like, but it too indulges in oddities, like giving the top car at the assembly line a superfluous, luxurious mustache. (This book was reviewed digitally with 10-by-16-inch double-page spreads viewed at 48% of actual size.)
Cars and trucks and things don’t go so well here. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-5344-4022-7
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Aladdin
Review Posted Online: June 16, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2020
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION
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Both beautiful and inspiring as graduation gift or guide to life.
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An inspirational picture book offers life advice for readers who want to be themselves.
Replete with sparkling, often quirky illustrations of children living their best lives, this book is a gorgeous guidebook for those seeking encouragement while encountering life’s challenges. The children featured—a racially diverse group ranging from infants to preschoolers—cheerfully navigate the various injunctions that flow through the text: “Be curious.…Be adventurous.…Be persistent.…Be kind.” What is remarkable about the book is that even though the instructions and the brief sentences explaining them are at times vague, the illustrations expand on them in ways readers will find endearing and uplifting. Those depicting painful or challenging moments are especially effective. The “Be persistent” double-page spread shows a child in a boat on stormy seas; it’s rich with deep blues as it emphasizes the energy of wind and rain and struggle in the face of challenge. Together with the accompanying repeated phrase “Keep going, never stop. Keep going, never stop. Keep going, never stop,” this spread arrests readers. By contrast, the “Be kind. Be understanding” spread simply presents two children’s faces, one cast in blue and the other in gold, but the empathy that Reynolds conveys is similarly captivating. While there is no plot to pull readers through the pages, the book provides rich fodder for caregivers to use as teachable moments, both informally and in classroom settings.
Both beautiful and inspiring as graduation gift or guide to life. (Picture book. 3-6)Pub Date: March 3, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-338-57231-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Nov. 24, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
Categories: CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES
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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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