Where Do Diggers Sleep at Night?

February 15, 2012
Another good old truck book; they never come amiss. Newcomer Sayres hits plenty of sweet notes with this tribute to the trucks of our world, singing them off to sleep in comforting couplets. "Where do diggers sleep at night? / Do they dream of holes they dug?" Children's identification with these beasts of the road and worksite is swift and complete. Dump trucks, fire trucks, car transporters, garbage trucks: "Where do garbage trucks sleep / when they're done collecting trash? / Do their dads sniff their load and say, / 'Pee-yew--time to take a bath'?" So there is a touch of low comedy, too, as well as the kind of inclusive generosity that welcomes monster trucks into their midst. Plus a natty tongue-twister to hurry along those nodding off to sleep: "Do their flashing fire-red beacons / make for super-bright night-lights?" Slade's artwork is dessert rich, with great soupy smiles and droopy eyes, backdrops of small towns here and small cities there, all under blueberry-stained night skies. For all the heavy lifting, this book works well as a lullaby, the illustrations shifting neatly, if predictably, at the end to a little boy's room and its bevy of toy trucks. Trucks can be big and noisy and moderately terrifying. Caught right, as here--what's not to love? (Picture book. 3-6)

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May 1, 2012

PreS-K-With its gentle tone, soft colors, and singsong rhyme scheme, this book is a solid choice for any truck-obsessed preschooler. Each page follows the imagined bedtime routine of grand vehicles like garbage trucks, monster trucks, snowplows, and even fire trucks. Fun, imaginative verse appears on every page: "Where do monster trucks sleep/when they've done a day of crushing?/Do they find a giant puddle/ when their metal teeth need brushing?" The final spread shows a sleepy boy safely tucked into bed, surrounded by his sleepy-looking, smiling toys. The illustrations of cartoon trucks with expressive faces give away Slade's Disney animator background. Pair this selection with Katherine Ayres's Matthew's Truck (Candlewick, 2005) and you've snagged the attention of young truck fanatics.-Jasmine L. Precopio, Fox Chapel Area School District, Pittsburgh, PA

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

May 15, 2012
Preschool In her first picture-book text, Sayres appeals to preschool truck enthusiasts by imagining the bedtime routines of personified trucks and construction equipment. Where do the dump trucks, fire engines, snowplows, giant cranes, and tractors sleep at night? Are they tucked in, read to, sung to, or rocked to sleep by their moms and dads? The many unanswered questions are likely to intrigue preschoolers long after their charm has worn thin for adults rereading the book, but Sayres, the mother of two sons, plays to the younger crowd. Slade's colorful, expressive illustrations animate the vehicles and other machines with big eyes, broad smiles, and the occasional yawn. Although most of the scenes take place outdoors, the final setting, illuminated only by a night-light, is a boy's bedroom, strewn with toy trucks that look curiously familiar. Sure to find an audience among small fans of big trucks.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)