Tag: working

Posted in Preschool Reads

Book Review: Tugga Tugga Tugboat, by Kevin Lewis/illus. by Daniel Kirk (Hyperion Books for Children, 2006)

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

tugga tuggaRecommended for ages 2-5

A child’s bath time comes to life as Tugga Tugga Tugboat takes readers on a busy tugboat’s day, navigating busy waters to help move tankers and put out fires. As the story progresses, the artwork gives some hints about the tugboat’s whereabouts away: there are bars of soap and blocks being piled up on the harbor, and there is a rubber ducky in the water. The story is told in rhyme with the refrain, “toot, toot” and “scoot, scoot”, repeated often enough that toddlers and preschool readers will be able to quickly pick up the phrases and participate. Illustrations appear to be bright acrylics and are more realistic than cartoony. Story text is bold and black with differing sizes on the refrains, further prompting young readers to participate.

The book lends itself to a participatory reading, with young readers prompted to call out “toot, toot!” and “scoot, scoot!” There are many bath-related fingerplays and songs, including “Splish Splash” and “Rubber Ducky”, that add to the program and make for a fun, bath-related story time. Oriental Trading sells transportation rubber duckies – rubber duckies in cars and boats – in bulk for a low price, budget permitting.

Posted in Uncategorized

Book Review: I Stink! by Kate McMullan/illus. by Jim McMullan (HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2002)

Posted on by Rosemary Kiladitis

i stinkRecommended for ages 2-5

While the rest of the city sleeps, a garbage truck wakes up to start his work day. The smiling truck is proud of his powerful engine and the noises and smells that are part of his job – he roars and burps his way through an “alphabet soup” of trash, from apple cores to zipped-up ziti with zucchini-and brags about how much he stinks, telling the reader, “No skunk has ever stunk this bad!” He heads to the river to eject the trash onto a barge, and heads back to the garage to gas up and sleep until the next night. The watercolor-and-ink illustrations use a palette of darker colors to communicate the sleepy city and the colors of the garbage itself. The text is bold and appears in assorted sizes and colors, fitting the garbage truck’s friendly and big personality.

The voice of the truck provides for a fun read-aloud, where children can chime in and make truck noises: burping, roaring, saying ahh. There are many truck crafts, songs and fingerplays to create a truck-related storytime. Children can create their own trucks using construction paper shapes and popsicle sticks; several websites offer printable truck pictures to color.