Troto and the Trucks

by Uri Shulevitz

Overview

Troto is a happy little car who likes to go places. One day after a long drive, he arrives in Cactusville, where he meets some big trucks. But when those big trucks laugh at how small Troto is, Troto doesn't feel very happy anymore, so he challenges them to a race to show them just what a little car can do. After Troto wins the race, the trucks apologize, and little Troto drives off into the sunset, casting a big shadow.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781466893979
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	05/12/2015
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	101 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 6 Years

About the Author

Uri Shulevitz is the author and/or illustrator of many books, including The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship by Arthur Ransome, a Caldecott Medal book, and The Treasure, Snow, and How I Learned Geography, all Caldecott Honor books. He lives in New York City.
Uri Shulevitz is a Caldecott Medal-winning illustrator and author. He was born in Warsaw, Poland, on February 27, 1935. He began drawing at the age of three and, unlike many children, never stopped. The Warsaw blitz occurred when he was four years old, and the Shulevitz family fled. For eight years they were wanderers, arriving, eventually, in Paris in 1947. There Shulevitz developed an enthusiasm for French comic books, and soon he and a friend started making their own. At thirteen, Shulevitz won first prize in an all-elementary-school drawing competition in Paris's 20th district. In 1949, the family moved to Israel, where Shulevitz worked a variety of jobs: an apprentice at a rubber-stamp shop, a carpenter, and a dog-license clerk at Tel Aviv City Hall. He studied at the Teachers' Institute in Tel Aviv, where he took courses in literature, anatomy, and biology, and also studied at the Art Institute of Tel Aviv. At fifteen, he was the youngest to exhibit in a group drawing show at the Tel Aviv Museum. At 24 he moved to New York City, where he studied painting at Brooklyn Museum Art School and drew illustrations for a publisher of Hebrew books. One day while talking on the telephone, he noticed that his doodles had a fresh and spontaneous look—different from his previous illustrations. This discovery was the beginning of Uri's new approach to his illustrations for The Moon in My Room, his first book, published in 1963. Since then he has written and illustrated many celebrated children’s books. He won the Caldecott Medal for The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship, written by Arthur Ransome. He has also earned three Caldecott Honors, for The Treasure, Snow and How I Learned Geography. His other books include One Monday Morning, Dawn, So Sleepy Story, and many others. He also wrote the instructional guide Writing with Pictures: How to Write and Illustrate Children’s Books. He lives in New York City.

Editorial Reviews

03/23/2015
Shulevitz (Dusk) tells an underdog story about a little green car that could. Troto—whose name presumably rhymes with auto—“liked to go places,” and one day he trundles past saguaros and boulders to the town of Cactusville. There he meets three oversize, unfriendly vehicles. A locomotive-shaped truck called Big Red taunts Troto, and the others follow suit: “ ‘It’s a bug on wheels,’ said Big Blue. ‘Careful, don’t step on it,’ said Big Yellow.” Troto challenges them to a race at high noon, through dusty Cactus Canyon, where one truck succumbs to a flat, another teeters off-balance, and the third catches its monster tires between rock walls. Victory enables Troto to “ off into the sunset, casting a big shadow.” Shulevitz’s closing-curtain reference to a Hollywood Western suggests missed opportunities for development. Cactusville resembles a clapboard ghost town, with a lone “gas saloon” marquee but nary a soul (or car) in sight, and Troto’s triumph yields nothing more than a “Congratulations!” from his foes. Self-propelled, competition-minded machines are popular fare in books and film alike, but this slight tale gives no motivation for its drama. Ages 3–6. (May)

Publishers Weekly

* . . . Shulevitz proves his status as a contemporary master of the form and delivers a well-paced narrative with readable, engaging art and text. A winner.” —Kirkus Reviews, STARRED REVIEW

From the Publisher

03/01/2015
PreS-Gr 2—Troto, a cheerful little green car, arrives in the desert town of Cactusville, where three big bully trucks taunt him. He challenges them to a race at the canyon. Though the trucks are bigger and faster, Troto's size makes him far nimbler, and soon he is crossing the finish line. The trucks acknowledge that he is "quite a car," and Troto drives off into the sunset, happy and proud. Shulevitz crafts a simple yet satisfying tale with an appealing palette of desert hues offset by the bright vehicles. Though Troto earns their respect, it is his self-worth that remains the focus. VERDICT Vehicle fans will love this new car on the block.—Kathleen Kelly MacMillan, Carroll County Public Library, MD

School Library Journal

★ 2015-02-03
Slow and steady wins the race.Troto, a little green car that bears some resemblance to a tortoise, likes to drive to new places. When he comes upon Cactusville, which looks like an Old West ghost town, he encounters some big trucks that clearly haven't been told to pick on someone their own size. Troto speaks up for himself against their bullying and challenges them—not to a duel at high noon but to a race through Cactus Canyon. When the race begins, the three big trucks tear out ahead of Troto, but their haste leads to their downfalls, as Big Red pops a tire, Big Blue nearly tips over, and then Big Yellow gets stuck. Troto's steady driving allows him to triumph, and his success ultimately wins the others' respect. The closing page delivers the satisfying news that Troto "drove off into the sunset, casting a big shadow," with accompanying art that places the little green car high on the page to signal his elevated status. Throughout the picture book, such powerful artistic decisions add to the overall achievement of this deceptively simple tale, as Shulevitz proves his status as a contemporary master of the form and delivers a well-paced narrative with readable, engaging art and text. A winner. (Picture book. 2-6)

Kirkus Reviews