Little Taco Truck

February 1, 2019
A little orange food truck parks in the same place every day, bringing tacos to hungry construction workers--till one morning, a falafel truck takes his spot. Miss Falafel then brings by more of her friends, crowding out the taco truck. Little Taco Truck whines and cries, but after four days of being shut out by the bigger trucks, he finally takes the initiative. He spends the night in his former parking space, defending his territory when the other trucks arrive. The rest immediately apologize, and after some creative maneuvering, everyone fits--even the newly arrived noodle truck. Valentine's naïve call for cooperation glosses over the very real problem of urban gentrification represented by the flood of bigger and better-equipped trucks taking over the neighborhood. When the taco truck is the only game in town, the food line consists of hard-hatted construction workers. Then, as falafel, arepa, gelato, hot dog, and gumbo trucks set up shop, professionals and hipsters start showing up. (All the customers are depicted as animals.) The author also inadvertently equates tacos with a lack of sophistication. " 'Hola, Miss Fal...Fal...' Little Taco Truck tried to sound out the words on the side of the other truck." Sadly, the truck sells Americanized crisp-shelled tacos. Even the glossary ignores the culinary versatility and cultural authenticity of the soft taco with this oversimplified and inaccurate definition: "A crispy Mexican corn pancake folded or rolled around a filling of meat, beans, and cheese."Slight and contrived. (Picture book. 4-7)

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February 11, 2019
Little Taco Truck has a happy life: he’s got a great location and plenty of satisfied customers. Then other food trucks—serving falafel, tapas, gumbo, arepas, and gelato (all defined in a glossary)—move in and crowd him out. While the other trucks’ opportunism seems far more thoughtless than malicious, Little Taco Truck’s tentativeness and self-pity exacerbate the ordeal (What if his customers like the other food more? What if he disappears from view?). But tearful misery soon gives way to determination: he stakes out a space at dawn, and when the others show up, Valentine (All Bears Need Love) writes, “Little Taco Truck blinked his lights, puffed up his tires and said, ‘This is my spot!’ ” Chastened and eager to cooperate (“We can all fit if we squeeze,” volunteers the arepas truck), the group even finds room when Oodles of Noodles shows up. A familiar story about standing up for oneself gets a tasty twist courtesy of the urban culinary zeitgeist and plenty of visual pop from digital illustrations by Martin (I’m Hungry), who arrays the blocky, brightly colored characters along a single, streetlike plane. Ages 3–7. Author’s agent: Linda Epstein, Emerald City Literary Agency. Illustrator’s agent: Anne Moore Armstrong, Bright USA.

April 1, 2019

PreS-Gr 2-Little Taco Truck is parked in the perfect spot under a shady tree and close to the workers who are constructing new buildings in a large city. His troubles begin one morning when he arrives as usual only to find that big, beautiful blue Miss Falafel has usurped his perfect parking place. Each day, when Little Taco Truck shows up, he discovers more food trucks parked on the street and has difficulty finding a place for himself. He eventually comes up with a plan to take back his original location. The other vehicles soon realize how thoughtless they have been in not making room for him. Digital illustrations feature trucks in bright, bold red, yellow, and pink serving a variety of foods such as gumbo, tapas, arepas, and gelato. Kindness and consideration for others, as well as learning to stand up for oneself, are the themes of this title. VERDICT This hip and fun read-aloud will appeal to children who are fully cognizant of the importance of playing fair.-Maryann H. Owen, Oak Creek Public Library WI

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