PICTURE BOOK - 20 Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street by Mark Lee

Illustrated by Kurt Cyrus

2013 Candlewick Press

HC $15.99

32 pgs.

Goodreads rating:  3.84 - 393 ratings

My rating: 4

Endpapers" Bright rusty red

1^st line/s:  "One ice-cream truck selling everything sweet
Breaks down and blocks the middle of our street."

My comments:  I've been reading picture books at storytime at the library to toddlers...and this book would be loved by many of them!  I have some toddler boys who have a difficult time paying attention when they even HEAR a truck go by on the street below.  Rhyming (though the rhythm is off in a few places) and great illustrations by Kurt Cyrus, along with the opportunity to count trucks...all the way up to 20...make this a great, fun read.

Goodreads:  If you’re a little boy on a bike, an ice-cream truck on your street is always a welcome sight. But what if it the truck breaks down and blocks the mail truck behind it (now there are two), not to mention a third truck carrying hay? One by one, trucks of all types and sizes and functions are sure to pile up behind, offering ample opportunity for ogling — and counting. And maybe the boy’s idea for putting one of the trucks to good use might even save the day!

POETRY PICTURE BOOK - Poem-Mobiles: Crazy Car Poems by Patrick Lewis and Douglas Florian

Illustrated by Jeremy Holmes

2014, Schwartz & Wade Books

HC $17.99

32 pages

Goodreads rating: 4.14

My rating: 4.5

Endpapers: Dark brown tire treads on another deep brown

Illustrations: "rendered in pencil and watercolor, then digitally colored (I wish I knew what that means!)

Giant Bookmobile of Tomorrow

I am a very moving van.

Driver: he's the Gingerbread Man.

Fuel: imagination power.

Speed: a dozen aisles per hour.

Whether it be comic strips,

Poetry at your fingertips,

Picture books or trivia,

The Wizard of Oz, Olivia,

My bookmobile has just one goal:

To entertain on cruise control.

but kids get on at every block

And I forget to watch the clock.

So if my van is "overdue,"

It's okay if you are too.

    

        J. Patrick Lewis

Balloon Car

My dadddy drives a car that floats

an inch aabove the street --

a hundred colorful balloons

tied to a bucket seat.

And once he blows his xar up,

Daddy never wants to stop.

But boy, does he get made at me

When I call out -- "Hey POP!"

J. Patrick Lewis

My comments:  This book of crazy, wacky poems is just plain fun.  I plan to use it as a writing starter/prompt with my fourth graders....read them a poem without sharing the illustration, get them to sketch what they see in their minds eye from the words alone, then share the illustration.  I can see the writing continuing on from there...some of my clever kids will fly!

Goodreads: The U.S. Children's Poet Laureate and an award-winning children's poet join their prolific forces in this picture book of poems about cars. But they're not just any cars: there's the "Sloppy-Floppy-Nonstop-Jalopy" ("So unique there is no copy"); the Bathtub Limosine ("With hot water heating / And porcelain seating"); and the "High Heel Car." Each of the thirteen quirky, inventive poems will speak directly to the imaginations of children, as will Holmes's high-concept, detail-filled illustrations.