New Friend (Tractor Mac Series)

by Billy Steers

Overview

When a new red tractor named Daisy joins the team at Stony Meadow Farm, she has trouble adjusting to all of the different chores that must be done. She realizes that she has much to learn. Can she do all of the work on her own? Luckily, Tractor Mac and his friends chop, pull, haul, and drag alongside Daisy until she gets the hang of it. With the help of everyone on the farm, Daisy thinks she will fit right in!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780374301101
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	05/05/2015
Series:	Tractor Mac Series
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	299,720
Product dimensions:	8.30(w) x 8.25(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

About the Author

Billy Steers is an author, illustrator, and pilot. In addition to the Tractor Mac series, he has worked on forty other children's books. Mr. Steers had horses and sheep on the farm where he grew up in Connecticut. Married with three sons, he still lives in Connecticut.

Editorial Reviews

Popular, practical life lessons abound as popular character Tractor Mac returns in this light, new selection for vehicle-loving listeners and readers . . . the cheerful pace, chirpy dialogue and satisfying ending are sure to please fans of the series.” —Kirkus Reviews

“Like all of the" Tractor Mac" books, the story focuses on the importance of teamwork and friendship, and the message is clearly presented. The cheerful, detailed illustrations reflect the artist's love of the country life and antique machinery.” —Sally James, South Hillsborough Elementary School, Hillsborough, CA, School Library Journal

From the Publisher

03/01/2015
PreS-Gr 2—Although America has been transformed into a nation of city and suburban dwellers, children are still captivated by the idea of the small family farm. In Steers's popular series, readers can journey to a bucolic family farm, complete with a trusty tractor and talkative animal friends, and experience life without electronics, surrounded by bountiful nature. In New Friend, a small, new tractor named Daisy has arrived at the farm. She has been brought in by Farmer Bill to clear and plant the unused fields on Stony Meadow Farm—an area declared by Tractor Mac and his animal friends to be too small, too creepy, and too overgrown to work. As goat Walter succinctly tells Daisy, "Those weeds and vines will eat a small tractor like you!" Luckily for Daisy, she receives help clearing the field as well as advice from Tractor Mac: "Set small goals to reach your big goal." Like all of the "Tractor Mac" books, the story focuses on the importance of teamwork and friendship, and the message is clearly presented. The detailed illustrations reflect the artist's love of country life and antique machinery. VERDICT A cheerful addition to transportation collections.—Sally James, South Hillsborough Elementary School, Hillsborough, CA

School Library Journal

2015-02-03
"Plows, harrows, and cultivators!" Positive, practical life lessons abound as popular character Tractor Mac returns in this light, new selection for vehicle-loving listeners and readers. This time, the animals are curious when a number of tools arrive at the farm. They are too small for Mac, so whom could they be for? New tractor Daisy, of course, who is much stronger than her diminutive size would suggest. Colorful illustrations with plenty of action and detail depict the farm and its inhabitants as Daisy, who is optimistic but overwhelmed by all the work to be done, realizes she may not be able to do it all on her own. First the farm's animals and vehicles offer aid, and then Daisy learns how to work independently and break a big job into manageable parts by setting targets. The story is a bit unfocused and the text a bit pedestrian, and it is irritating that Steers concocts a scenario in which the female character needs advice from the paternalistic Mac. Still, the fact that there is a girl tractor at all is mildly praiseworthy, and the cheerful pace, chirpy dialogue and satisfying ending are sure to please fans of the series. A pleasant-enough trip to the farm. (Picture book. 2-7)

Kirkus Reviews