Tough trucks

PreS-Rhyming texts and busy cartoon art introduce these vehicles. A tanker, concrete mixer, garbage truck, and big rig are highlighted in Trucks. Parts such as pistons, a cab, CB radio, and semitrailer are mentioned in the text and depicted on a concluding labeled picture. Unfortunately, the illustrations don't always show the complete vehicle; only parts are shown at a time. Tractors provides solid information on farm equipment. Children learn that a tractor pulls a plow, harrow, roller, seed drill, mower, baler, combine, and trailer and see the roles that these pieces of equipment play on a farm field. Tractors are shown in their entirety, which makes the pictures appear less cluttered and better suited for toddler/preschool audiences. Both books feature the same animal characters-a bird, what appears to be a rabbit or dog, and a mouse-and they all have the same expressionless faces (a smile illustrated with a single black line). The rhymes are not exceptional, and the pictures are mediocre.-Olga R. Kuharets, Broward County Libraries, Fort Lauderdale, FL (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

"A tanker carries liquids, / so it's sealed up good and tight. / This shiny tanker's full of milk, / all creamy, cool, and white." In singsongy verse, these books describe the featured vehicles. [cf2]Trucks[cf1] mentions special equipment, such as CB radios; [cf2]Tractors[cf1] describes different attachments, such as the baler. The cheerful cartoony art with animal drivers will appeal to young listeners. [Review covers these titles: [cf2]Tough Trucks[cf1] and [cf2]Tremendous Tractors[cf1].] From HORN BOOK Spring 2004, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.