Review by Booklist Review
This follow-up to Pearson's How to Eat an Airplane (presented by the Bad Idea Book Club in 2016) takes another bad idea getting a dump truck as a pet and runs with it. A little girl visits a parking lot filled with trucks whose mouth-like grilles and eyeball headlights give enough personality to match the sales tags on their windows (trucks are labeled as extra clean, medium clean, or unclean ; loud, very loud, or !!!!! ). The girl chooses a cute little orange truck and takes it home, where the dog/dump truck analogies really take off. The truck leaves an oil stain on the carpet, is fed from a pop-top can of fuel, and needs to be walked around two or three hundred blocks. They visit a truck park, and their trip to a construction site will be a treat for vehicle-loving kids. Catusanu's digital illustrations insert realistic cut-outs into an eye-poppingly bright, collage-like landscape, adding humorous detail to a story that is sometimes hilarious and always absurd.--Connie Fletcher Copyright 2019 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
"Adopting a dump truck is a big responsibility"; fortunately, though, the comic team behind How to Eat an Airplane offers this no-nonsense manual. "Everyone knows that dump trucks make the best pets," a knowledgeable narrator intones, proceeding with practical advice on everything from finding a "forever truck" to selecting a leash to working through gratuitous noise ("If your dump truck honks too much, say 'No!' in a firm voice"). Also recommended: a trip to the truck park to play "Haul the Dirt." And when your truck's emotional tank is empty? Let it snuggle at the foot of the bed. Catusanu's attractive digital collages include photo elements and feature trucks with doglike mannerisms. Appended, an eight-question quiz--"Dog or Dump Truck?"-- reveals some surprising similarities between the two, emphasizing the book's engaging combination of the serious and the silly. Ages 4--8. (June)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 1--A tongue-in-cheek comparison of puppies and dump trucks, this digitally illustrated romp details all the important steps in choosing a pet vehicle. A young boy spends time at the truck lot looking for one with "a twinkle in its headlights" and brings it home to let it drive around his living room and explore its new surroundings. He feeds it a can of gas and buys a special license plate tag and leash before taking it on a honk-filled stroll around the neighborhood. After a tiring day, the boy and his truck snuggle in for the night. The final page shows that resting up will be important because walking a grown-up dump truck is a big job. The story is followed by a humorous quiz about telling the difference between dogs and dump trucks. Catusanu's mixed media illustrations showcase all the vehicle paraphernalia young truck lovers will be looking for. Pearson's humorous comparisons will entertain adults and children, though they go on a tad too long and are belabored toward the end. VERDICT A fun choice for any child getting a new toy or puppy.--Jenna Boles, Greene County Public Library, Beavercreek, OH
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Review by Horn Book Review
In Pearson's second mock how-to (How to Eat an Airplane), the omniscient narration plays it amusingly straight (e.g., "Everyone knows that dump trucks make the best pets"). Also supplying the yuks (and sometimes yucks) is collage-like digital art. See, for example, when the boy who gamely models truck ownership throughout the book must confront his pet's, er, deposits. (c) Copyright 2021. 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
The care and feeding of ravenously hungry trucks.The team behind How to Eat an Airplane (2016) returns with a slightly less ridiculous, yet still highly whackadoodle, tale of pet ownership. "Everyone knows that dump trucks make the best pets. However, adopting a dump truck is a big responsibility." Certainly owning a pet truck isn't just something you jump into. After finding the right one you'll need to feed it, get it licensed, walk it, and keep it in line. Illustrating the second-person text, an enthusiastic child takes the truck to exercise at the local construction site and cleans up after it, even when it, er, dumps. Not a single step in pet-truck ownership is skimped, whether it's bathtime or bedtime. There's even a highly informative (and lengthy) fact-filled quiz at the end in which kids can try to determine if the questionnaire is discussing a dog or a dump truck. The book bears many similarities to Jason Carter Eaton and John Rocco's How to Track a Truck (2016) as a how-to on truck ownership, but the unusual, Terry Gilliam-esque art stands out. Digitally collaged illustrations present a mixed-media look and feel. Humans in the story present an array of different skin tones, with the protagonist presenting white.A book that runs like a well-oiled machine; expect a load of love from both truck fanatics and pet owners. (Picture book. 4-7) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
