Busy Builders, Busy Week!
Guest Post & Giveaway!
I love being asked to feature new books on my blog. There is something so exciting about being part of an author/illustrator's latest work. When asked to review and feature Busy Builders, Busy Week! I was also asked if there was anything in particular I wanted the author to write about in her guest post. So I tossed out a couple of ideas, and love the one she went with. Because, you see, I have a sweet spot for truck loving kids. The post below brought a huge smile to my face and had me nodding away to my computer screen.
WHAT I LOVE ABOUT KIDS AND TRUCKS
By Jean Reidy
When kids meet up with a crane or a digger or a dump truck, something important happens. You can tell by a kid’s furrowed brows, focused eyes and full-throated roars and crashes and beeps and bangs voiced in concert with the machine. The encounter is never frivolous. Because construction trucks mean business—serious business. They’re big. They’re cool. They’ve got the moves. And they make noise. What’s not to love? It’s why so many tots know an excavator from a back hoe. Why they celebrate a cement mixer sighting. And why a pint-sized bulldozer and a sandbox can keep kids busy for hours.
When kids have trucks, they have work to do. Important work. Call it play. But (I think) you’d be mistaken. Because trucks are powerful and purposeful and they put that power and purpose in a kid’s hands. Kids are in charge. And there’s energy. Awesome, positive energy moved from kid to machine and machine to the earth or the brick or the board. Visible, viable energy. For my kids, there was always a blurring of kid and machine. When they played “construction” you never quite knew if they were driving the truck or actually WERE the truck. Amazing!
Sure, it doesn’t hurt that when kids meet up with trucks, they’re introduced to the science of simple machines. Whether studying a construction site or working with their own equipment, kids absorb the phenomena of physics. And they’re making these discoveries on their own.
But perhaps what I love most is that when kids and trucks get together there might be an end creation in sight, but often there isn’t. Because kids can love the process—the digging, the dumping, the ‘dozing—more than the product itself. And, so, the wonder-filled work continues for another day.
Peek inside!
What a perfectly vibrant and lively cover! Take a look at some interior shots to feel the vibrations of the action, and to hear the rumbles of engines and tires! Beware, you might want to go play in the dirt after!
My thoughts on the book: I couldn't wait to share this book with my two-year-old son. My boy loves everything truck, car, construction, farm, etc. If it has wheels it's cool in his book. The latest obsession of his are traffic cones found at job sites or...anywhere. I often hear an enthusiastic "Cone! Cone!" from the backseat of the car.
I wish I had filmed the moment I showed the cover of the book to my son.
It went something like this:
"Rory, want to read this new book with me?"
"Whhhooooooooaaaaaaaaa! Whoa, whoa, wow!"
Seriously.
The text bounces off your tongue in a delightful way. Full of rhymes and vivid verbs, alliteration and (of course) onomatopoeia, the book begs to be read aloud. And just try to read it without smiling. Impossible! Follow these inner-city builders as they create something special out of a drab plot of land. Four enthusiastic thumbs up from the boy and I!
Author Bio: Jean Reidy is a two-time winner of the Colorado Book Award. Especially gifted at
writing for very young children, Jean is a frequent presenter at national and local literacy, writing,
and education conferences and at schools across the country—in person and via Skype. She is a
member of the Colorado Council International Reading Association and the Society of Children’s
Book Writers and Illustrators, and she serves on the board of Reach Out and Read Colorado. Jean writes from her home in Colorado where she lives right across the street from her neighborhood library, which she visits nearly every day. Visit her atwww.jeanreidy.com and on Twitter: @JeanReidy.
Follow Jean on the BUSY BUILDERS, BUSY WEEK! tour!
Mon, Aug 22
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Tues, Aug 23
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Wed, Aug 24
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Thurs, Aug 25
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Fri, Aug 26
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Sat, Aug 27
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Mon, Aug 29
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Tues, Aug 30
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Wed, Aug 31
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Thurs, Sept 1
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Fri, Sept 2
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Enter to win!
One lucky winner will receive a copy of BUSY BUILDERS, BUSY WEEK! (U.S. addresses.)
Thanks for stopping by!
I loved this review, the author's comments hit the nail on the head! As a preschool teacher and grandmother of a truck lovin' toddler, I see the magic of trucks and children almost every day. This book would be wonderful to share with all the children I love!!
ReplyDeleteMy son was fascinated with vehicles and spent many hours on the front porch (gated) along a busy street in State College, PA, running Matchbox vehicles over and around our tolerant German Shepherd Heidi. While cars lined up at the traffic light at the corner, my son would line his vehicles on the porch railing -- sorting and resorting by shapes, colors, purposes (firetrucks and ambulances led the pack!), and many other categories that made sense only to him. The construction vehicles were part of the mix. And every vehicle made its own noise. Love Jean's text and Leo Timmers' illustrations!
ReplyDeleteWhile I was not a truck loving kid, I do participate in our local town's Big Truck Day, and I love it! There's nothing like the joy on a kid realizing exactly how big a truck is and that they get to climb in it to bring a smile to your face. After an hour or two, the honking does start to wear on you, but I know the kids love it! Thanks for bringing this book to my attention.
ReplyDelete