Review by Booklist Review
A missing red truck is the cause of this little boy's doldrums. Between bouts of sulking, he explores closets, showers (while someone is in there, no less), the sandbox, the tree house, the shed, and more all to no avail. Beaumont's rhymes are consistently pleasurable, alternating stanza size and format while always finding a way to rhyme with the last letter in truck: My brother hands me a ball. / My sister hands me some dumb doll. / My mom says it will be okay. / My dad just shrugs and walks away. / I WANT MY T-R-U-C-K! Just as big an attraction, though, are Catrow's wild, undulating, borderline grotesque illustrations, in which the little boy sometimes looks like an elderly troll and his collection of toys resembles something out of a horror show. It is a messy, warped look that readers will either love or hate. Thankfully, there is a happy ending in store, as Bowser the dog digs up a hole where he has hidden, among other things, an iPod, slippers, dentures, and, yes, the red truck.--Kraus, Daniel Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Somewhere on the continuum between the egomaniacal Anthony from the Twilight Zone's "It's a Good Life" episode and William Steig's sulking Spinky, you'll find Beaumont and Catrow's Tommy, a boy who is inconsolable about the loss of his favorite toy: " 'Shhh!' I hear my parents say,/ 'Tommy's not himself today./ He's lost his T-R-U-C-K!' " It's not as if Tommy is without options-it's clear he has plenty of toys, as well as two willing playmates ("My brother says, 'Let's climb a tree.'/ My sister says 'Play house with me' "). But as every kid knows (and seldom admits), it's what you don't have that matters most. From the very first spread, where a deflated, embittered Tommy sits in the middle of a very big chair, it's clear that readers are in for a very funny encounter with a memorable personality. Catrow doesn't let a single spread go to waste, whether he's capturing the ongoing, id-driven antics of Tommy's inadvertently heroic dog, Bowser, or portraying Tommy having a rare analytical moment while hanging upside down from a tree. Ages 3-5. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1-This peppy picture book relates in rhyming verse the story of a boy's expansive search for his favorite toy-a riding truck. The frustration escalates as he looks in obvious places, then in "Grandma's smelly trunk.," a toolshed, and a tree house, all to no avail. Throughout the tale, family members offer alternate toys, excuses for his temper, and affectionate consolation. A raucous and rotund dog finally digs a huge hole and reveals the treasure, which lies amid other items, including an iPod and a set of false teeth. Beaumont's refrain promises that listeners will know how to spell "truck" by tale's end and is perfectly paced for expressive pauses and exclamations. Catrow's jam-packed pencil and watercolor scenes are masterworks of detail and humor. This is definitely a "read it again" book.-Gay Lynn Van Vleck, Henrico County Library, Glen Allen, VA (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
"Tommy's not himself today. / He's lost his T-R-U-C-K!" When a boy's favorite red truck goes missing, the whole household gets dragged into the drama. Tommy's brother and sister try to distract him, his mom offers platitudes, and his "dad just shrugs and walks away." After tearing the place apart, even venturing to look in "Grandma's smelly trunk," Tommy is despondent: "I loved that truck. / I love it still. / I always, always, always will." With their wild proportions and perspectives, Catrow's illustrations kick Beaumont's bouncy, rhyming text up a notch. The lovably grotesque caricatures and comically cluttered scenes poke fun at Tommy's distraught emotional state. Once his T-R-U-C-K (along with Grandma's dentures, an iPod, and a whole lot of other items) is unearthed, Tommy easily rebounds. Sharp-eyed viewers might guess who's responsible for the truck's disappearance before the mystery is solved, but knowing whodunit doesn't detract from the fun. In fact, the pictures are just as, if not more, entertaining on subsequent readings. kitty flynn (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Anyone who's ever interacted with a young child who's lost a favorite toy will immediately recognize this little boy and his single-mindedness in searching for his t-r-u-c-k.The rhythmic, rhyming text works well, especially out loud, as long as readers realize "t-r-u-c-k" means to spell out the word letter by letter: "But all I want to do today / Is find my T-R-U-C-K!" Scratchy pencil-and-watercolor illustrations capture the chaos of a household with young kids and pets: Clothes overflow from dresser drawers, soap and scrub brush go flying when Tommy peeks behind the shower curtain and toys spill out of an overturned toy bin. Tommy's shoes are untied, and his hair sticks up; it's easy to imagine this kid losing track of his things. However, alert readers and listeners will notice clues to the real fate of Tommy's truck. On every spread, his mischievous dog is dashing away, something he has filched in his mouth: a pair of gardening gloves, a fuzzy pink slipper, a toy dinosaur and more. It's especially funny when Bowser races away with the cat in pursuit, the cat's toy in his mouth, while the cat chases him, knocking over the ladder to the treehouse and stranding Tommy.Don't read this at bedtime; the boisterous energy here is aptly summed up in the final rhyme: "HOORAY! I FOUND MY T-R-U-C-K! / Come on, Bowser! Let's go play!" (Picture book. 3-6)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
