Twenty Big Trucks in the Middle of the Street

by Mark Lee, Kurt Cyrus (Illustrator)

Overview

Count the trucks getting stuck in a traffic jam in this rhythmic read-aloud sure to draw in kids who love everything on wheels.

Features an audio read-along!
One ice-cream truck selling everything sweet breaks down and blocks the middle of our street.
If you’re a little boy on a bike, an ice-cream truck on your street is always a welcome sight. But what if the truck breaks down and blocks the mail truck behind it (now there are two), not to mention a third truck carrying hay? One by one, trucks of all types and sizes and functions are sure to pile up behind, offering ample opportunity for ogling — and counting. And maybe the boy’s idea for putting one of the trucks to good use might even save the day!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763667993
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	07/09/2013
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. This is his first book for children. He lives in New York City.

Kurt Cyrus is the author-illustrator of numerous picture books and has illustrated titles for such authors as Eve Bunting, Lisa Wheeler, and M. T. Anderson. He lives in Cottage Grove, Oregon.

Editorial Reviews

An ice cream truck breaking down in “the middle of our street” is a dream come true for many a kid—not to mention the ensuing traffic jam that strands 20 trucks of every shape and purpose. But one boy has something bigger in mind than licking a cone or being a spectator: he wants to solve the problem. That takes some persistence, but he eventually wins over the crowd with a solution that’s literally right in front of them. Adult author Lee, making his children’s debut, seems a bit stuck himself, delineating the mostly easy-to-recognize vehicles (“A pickup truck is number 4/ A crane truck makes 5./ And here come more!”) rather than amplifying the mood so vividly established in Cyrus’s (The Voyage of Turtle Rex) generously scaled and cinematically composed street scenes. It’s his portrayal of the trucks as solid machines momentarily sidelined from their essential duties, along with the evocation of a neighborhood brought together by a benign “Didja ever...” moment, that makes the book feel inspired. It almost doesn’t need words at all. Ages 3–5. Illustrator’s agent: Michael Stearns, Upstart Crow Literary. (June)

Publishers Weekly

[A] lively picture book multitasking as a counting book, a truck book, and an ice-cream wish-fulfillment story...
—The Horn Book

It’s [Cyrus's] portrayal of the trucks as solid machines momentarily sidelined from their essential duties, along with the evocation of a neighborhood brought together by a benign “Didja ever...” moment, that makes the book feel inspired.
—Publishers Weekly

Counting books in verse are plentiful, but this one stands out. The words roll off the tongue, a good thing, as children will demand to hear it again and again.
—School Library Journal

Not just a counting book, the rhyming text artfully tells a story, which climaxes when the clever young observer suggests a nifty way to get the trucks rolling again. ... Good for storytimes and one-on-one sharing, this should delight even the most jaded of truck-book aficionados.
—Booklist Online

[H]andsome entertainment. This softly rhyming picture book presents children with a small but exciting dilemma that quickly involves—hurrah!—all sorts of trucks.
—The Wall Street Journal

The large format, bouncy rhyme and increasing mayhem all answer the energetic child's desire for things to be big and loud. However, the book subtly focuses the attention, too, as its captivating illustrations invite careful "reading."
—Newsday

From the Publisher

PreS-Gr 2—This counting book presents a traffic tie-up of the proportion that will delight young children, especially those with a passion for trucks. A broken-down ice-cream truck is all it takes to bring the action to a standstill. Each page features one type of vehicle in all its glory, and there's even an aerial view that shows the entire neighborhood immobilized by the jam. Bold digital illustrations are crisp and sufficiently detailed to please those who have already acquired some knowledge of the topic. The use of concentrated color and minimal white space will also appeal to young listeners, who will identify with the young hero who gets everyone out of the mess. His idea is to use the crane to lift all the other vehicles and send them on their way. Of course, the disabled ice-cream truck will have to remain-a perfect reward. Counting books in verse are plentiful, but this one stands out. The words roll off the tongue, a good thing, as children will demand to hear it again and again.—Gloria Koster, West School, New Canaan, CT

School Library Journal

When an ice cream truck breaks down, a truck traffic jam ensues: the perfect attraction for the vehicle-obsessed in this captivating counting book. From cement mixer to garbage truck, the trucks pile up--and so does the crowd--as a young bicyclist names and numbers the vehicles in rhyming text. "I start to count each truck I see. / First 1, then 2, and now there are 3." The use of numerals in the text encourages number recognition and creates a matching game, while spelled numbers are used when appropriate. The yellow-helmeted boy weaves through the action until the solution is clear: the crane truck! His idea saves the day, and with traffic flowing once more, all ends on a deliciously sweet note. Digital illustrations done in a muted pastel palette present an amiable city block as Cyrus takes readers on a cinematic tour of the locale. His strength is in how he uses the boy's point of view to expand readers' understanding of the environment, allowing both character and readers to find an answer to the problem. Various perspectives capture the imagination, but the trucks are the real stars of the show. Truck-lovers will beg for repeat reads, with little ones "reading along" from memory. (Picture book. 3-5)

Kirkus Reviews