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Little Blue Truck
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A lot or a little?
The parents' guide to what's in this book.
What parents need to know
Parents need to know that Alice Schertle's Little Blue Truck, illustrated by Jill McElmurry, is a cute, rhyming story of a truck that drives through the countryside, passing farm animals and fowl, as well as a toad and a bird. When it discovers a big dump tuck stuck in the mu, it tries to help, but gets stuck in the mud,too! Finally, all the animals and birds use teamwork to rescue them both. This simple story is a modern classic that kids love for its fun animal and truck noises (Baaa! Moo! Oink! Beep! Cluck! Peep! Neigh! Quack! Honk!) and positive message that you don't have to be big to help out someone in trouble. This is the first in a series of Little Blue Truck books.
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What's the story?
A LITTLE BLUE TRUCK zips through the countryside passing farm animals who voice friendly greetings (Baa! Moo! Oink!, etc.), and Blue gives them a nice "Beep!" in response. Then a big dump truck barrels past Blue and the animals, saying, "I haven't got time to pass the day with every duck along the way!" But then Dump gets stuck in the mud. Blue tries to help but gets stuck, too. "Beep! Beep! Beep!/ I'm stuck! I'm Stuck!" he calls. And the animals come to the rescue. "Head to head,/ and rump to rump,/ they all pushed Blue --/ who pushed the Dump." Both trucks get free, thanks to their animal friends.
Is it any good?
This cute tale of being kind to strangers and the power of teamwork makes a delightful read-aloud, with ample opportunity for kids to join in on the animal and truck noises. Little Blue Truck also lets kid see that sometimes little ones can make a difference and help out big folks in trouble.
Talk to your kids about ...
Families can talk about teamwork in Little Blue Truck. How does working together get the job done?
Who's your favorite animal in the story? Which one is the funniest?
Why does the big dump truck think he's so important? What does he learn about getting help from little guys? Have you ever helped someone bigger than you who was in trouble? What happened?
Book details
- Author: Alice Schertle
- Illustrator: Jill McElmurry
- Genre: Picture Book
- Topics: Cars and Trucks, Friendship, Great Boy Role Models, Great Girl Role Models, Horses and Farm Animals
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
- Publication date: May 1, 2008
- Publisher's recommended age(s): 4 - 7
- Number of pages: 32
- Available on: Nook, Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: November 12, 2019
Themes & Topics
For kids who love trucks and animals
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Common Sense Media's unbiased ratings are created by expert reviewers and aren't influenced by the product's creators or by any of our funders, affiliates, or partners.