Trucky Roads

April 15, 2024
Though “some people look at the road and just see TRUCKS,” bearded enthusiast Trucky Roads sees “all KINDS of trucks” in this imaginative appreciation that muses on the vehicles’ many modes. Early pages list commonplace variations (dump trucks, garbage trucks), but things grow increasingly outlandish after Roads muses, “If you can dream it, it could be.” On the next spread, which introduces “Tow Trucks and Toe Trucks,” Roads is seen in the cab of a tow truck pulling a foot-shaped vehicle wearing a Band-Aid. Amid the goofy assemblage, things turn contemplative: asked whether a Bus Truck is “a bus made of a truck, or a truck made of a bus,” text indicates that “Truck is in the eye of the beholder.” And the onset of nighttime suggests even dreamier opportunities for vehicle expansiveness. Punny narration from Miller and friendly-faced digital renderings by Skipp conjure a high-energy truck rally with far-out vibes. Human characters are portrayed with various skin tones. Ages 4–8.

Starred review from May 15, 2024
Meet dozens of marvelous trucks. "Some people look at the road and just see TRUCKS." But Trucky Roads, a bearded, brown-skinned, pink-hatted vehicle enthusiast, knows that "there are all KINDS of trucks." Trucky's every bit as enthusiastic about the plethora of vehicles gracing these pages as readers will be. Miller puts a clever spin on a well-tread topic. Everyone's heard of fire trucks...but what about an earth truck (a green truck filled with dirt), a water truck (a blue vehicle with a long hose curling off its side), and a wind truck (a bus with a windmill on top)? And we all know about tow trucks...but what about toe trucks? Seated in a smiling tow truck, Trucky tows a foot-shaped vehicle containing an array of footwear. The whimsical, lightly rhyming text builds to a fever pitch as Miller lists truck after truck: "Monster Trucks AND Tiger Trucks / Pickup Trucks AND Put-Down Trucks / Diggers AND Mixers AND Rollers AND Cranes / Piggers AND Fixers AND / Bowlers AND Sprains." It's sure to provoke giggles and have kids chiming in with their own variations. Skipp's blocky digital art has a collagelike feel, and the tie-dyed palette, paired with the hilariously surreal array of vehicles and Trucky's own philosophical attitude ("Truck is in the eye of the beholder," he tells an onlooker), gives the book a playfully psychedelic vibe. A gloriously bright, inventive world on wheels. (Picture book. 2-6)

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