LITTLE YELLOW TRUCK

A little yellow truck wrestles with
feelings of inadequacy.

When lumberyard owner Riley informs
his crew of trucks that he’s purchased some land to turn into a playground,
Little Yellow is thrilled. Yet all the other trucks get the big jobs, like
hauling the trash, pouring the concrete, and delivering the equipment, and it
seems there’s nothing left for a small pickup to do. Fortunately Riley’s got a
job for him, and it’s just right for a little guy. While the book attempts to
connect with child readers by appealing to their sympathy with a character’s
disappointment, little artistry accompanies the writing. Bunting takes a
glancing pass at spiffing up the text with copious sound effects of trucks at
work (“Bang, clang, smack, whack”) and descriptions of the “lumpy, bumpy,
clumpy land,” but the tale itself does little to engage readers beyond the
presence of the trucks themselves. Additionally, the simplified computer art
and cartoony anthropomorphized vehicles do the book no favors. Human characters
are depicted in a wide range of ethnicities and abilities (Riley is white), but
while it is good to include a kid who uses a wheelchair, it is impossible not
to notice that none of the playground equipment is made to be accessible to
that child.

A honk and a miss. (Picture book.
3-6)