The pumpkin parade

Scooper and Dumper are back, this time trading wintry weather for fall pumpkin hauling. The town is preparing for the pumpkin parade, but one very important part is missing--the pumpkins. Scooper, a front loader, and Dumper, a truck, get a call from Maybelle (a green pickup truck) at the farm. It's time to go to the patch and pile up some pumpkins to bring back. Maybelle and Dumper fill their beds (while Scooper fills her front bucket) and drive back slow and steady. But a sharp stop causes Maybelle's hatch to open and sends the pumpkins flying. The trucks are surrounded by darkening skies and spooky cornfields; they need to get back in time for the parade. How can they find all the missing pumpkins? Their repeated cheer--"Work together, / can't be beat!"--lifts their spirits as they join forces to find a solution. The narrative is tinged with worry and suspense--whooshing wind and eerie sounds--but the sunny resolution whisks all those fears away. The bouncy rhyme skips merrily along (perhaps that's what gives those errant pumpkins an extra push…and why they roll so far away), and the art is dominated by fall oranges, rusty reds, and cornfield yellows. Fans of this duo will happily follow them through another season. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.