Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site

June 13, 2011
A noisy construction site may be an unorthodox setting for a bedtime story, but newcomer Rinker and Lichtenheld (Shark vs. Train) tie together the dual themes neatly. Though more subdued than the trucks that drive Kate and Jim McMullanâs I Stink! and Iâm Dirty!, these anthropomorphized vehicles have a similar graphic feel and cheerful demeanor. After five machines are first pictured hard at work, they appear against a blazing sky: âThe sun has set, the work is done;/ Itâs time for trucks to end their fun./ So one by one theyâll go to bed/ To yawn and rest their sleepy heads,/ Then wake up to another day/ Of rough-and-tough construction play!â Each truck performs one final task before settling down to sleep, with gentle encouragement: âShh... goodnight, Bulldozer, goodnight.â Rinkerâs rhythmic verse reinforces the vehiclesâ love of their work (Dump Truck âmoves the dirt/ from place to place,/ Then dumps it with a happy faceâ) and, like Lichtenheldâs art, deftly balances the storyâs boisterous and drowsy elements. Truck lovers will happily nod off to the strains of this read-aloud. Ages 4â8.