Twenty Big Trucks in the Middle of Christmas

by Mark Lee, Kurt Cyrus (Illustrator)

Overview

Add a big dose of Christmas cheer to an array of trucks for counting and you have the components of read-aloud holiday magic.

One doughnut truck, on a cold winter day, drives into town and parks and stays.

The snowy town is filling up with a procession of trucks of all shapes and sizes, including a snowplow, a crane, a digger, a semitrailer transporting the town’s majestic Christmas tree, and even a flatbed carrying Santa’s sleigh. All in all, twenty trucks roll in full of sparkle and anticipation, ready to set up the holiday festivities. But when the star being hoisted to the top of the Christmas tree wobbles and crashes to the ground, what could possibly be used to replace it? Thankfully, a pair of siblings scan the scene and come up with the perfect solution. Author Mark Lee and illustrator Kurt Cyrus team up again for a buoyant story delivering satisfying rhymes, holiday spirit, and most importantly, twenty trucks for counting.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781536225631
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	09/14/2021
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	11 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Mark Lee is a highly regarded poet, playwright, journalist, and author of novels for adults, including The Lost Tribe and The Canal House. He is also the author of the children’s book Twenty Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street, illustrated by Kurt Cyrus. He lives in New York City.

Kurt Cyrus is the author-illustrator of numerous picture books. He is also the illustrator of Twenty Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street by Mark Lee and other titles for such authors as Eve Bunting, Lisa Wheeler, and M. T. Anderson. He lives in Cottage Grove, Oregon.

Editorial Reviews

The creative team that conceived Twenty Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street hauls out 20 new trucks that fill the holiday with cheer. . . readers will find themselves pausing to pore over each glorious spread. . . . No preschooler will want to miss out on this heavyweight Christmas story.
—School Library Journal (starred review)

Ideal for truck lovers seeking a holiday fix.
—Kirkus Reviews

This companion to 20 Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street (rev. 5/13) is brightened by Lee’s rhyming text and Cyrus’s wintercrisp digital illustrations.
—The Horn Book

From the Publisher

★ 11/01/2021

PreS—Here come the trucks bringing Christmas into town! The creative team that conceived Twenty Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street hauls out 20 new trucks that fill the holiday with cheer. The snowplow and sander trucks clear the roads for the flatbed carrying a towering evergreen to decorate the town square. An earth drill, a ladder truck, and a boom truck with a basket crane all lend a hand. But…oh no! The star tree-topper falls from the cherry picker and shatters! Who will save the day? The most unlikely hero of all, the donut truck, lends its oversized rooftop donut to crown the tree. Lee's couplets read easily, while not shying away from delectable mechanistic words like "generator," "stake," and "flatbed." With no shortage of happenings in this town, each spread conveys a story of its own. A dancing, costumed snowman, a holiday band and choir, Santa on a sleigh, and a truck full of llamas all join the festivities. The text moves the story along quickly; however, readers will find themselves pausing to pore over each glorious spread. Using a muted palette, Cyrus treats children to a variety of perspectives. Viewing the scene from many angles pulls the viewer into the spectacle. This book works well as a companion to its predecessor, but will stand alone as a holiday favorite. VERDICT No preschooler will want to miss out on this heavyweight Christmas story. Highly recommended.—Richelle Rose, Kenton County P.L., KY

School Library Journal

2021-08-18
Two children count and name the trucks that bring Christmas festivities to the center of their town.

First, there is the doughnut truck, which parks on the road while the children sled nearby. Next come a snowplow and a sander, clearing the road as the children look on. Then comes an enormous evergreen tree on a long flatbed. A digger makes the hole, and a crane lifts the tree to place it in the hole. More and more trucks arrive, bringing decorations, ladders, a band, a Christmas village, a generator, Christmas llamas, and more. When the star (carried aloft by the boom truck) falls to the ground, the children offer a creative solution to top the tree. After the Christmas scene is complete, “friends and families” sing and dance and enjoy doughnuts and cocoa together. The text rhymes lightly, with a rhythm that is not as catchy as it could be but effectively carries readers through the story and includes the trucks’ names and numbers for a satisfying counting and pointing experience. The clean-lined illustrations have a flat feel, but the winter activities and the proportions of people, trucks, and tree invite interest in the scenes. The two children are White, and there is some diversity among the townspeople; notably, Santa, from afar, appears browner than most.

Ideal for truck lovers seeking a holiday fix. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews