Hansel and Diesel by David Gordon

Not sure how I missed this one since I reviewed David Gordon's other books . Like the others, this book follows the story of the traditional folk tale of Hansel and Gretel. I tried not to chuckle while reading it to Ricky because instead of the house made of candy, Hansel and Gretel, who are trucks, of course - stumble upon "brightly colored lights, shiny gas pumps, huge tanks of fuel, and piles and piles of brand new tires." The gas pumps are striped like candy canes. Very cute! The evil winch then tries to shred Hansel and Gretel with saw blades.

It has a good ending and it is done well. At times it can be a bit wordy, but it's a good story overall. Ricky loved it. I always love David Gordon's books. He's a great children's writer and illustrator. Great to be able to do it all!

SMASH! CRASH! by Jon Scieszka, Illustrations by David Shannon, Loren Long, David Gordon, & Dan Potash

Finally! This is what I've been looking for in books - Trucktown!! Nothing like a bunch of creative people making all kinds of truck and vehicle characters! There are several interesting names attached to this book.

You may recognize the name of David Gordon whose books The Three Little Rigs and The Ugly Truckling appeared on my blog last year. I am a big fan of his - as well as Loren Long - whose illustrations for The Little Engine That Could were just classic. A review on that is soon to come. Jon Scieszka's Stinky Cheese book is really funny - and I plan on reading it to Ricky soon.

But back to the book! Best friend trucks Jack and Dan run around smashing and crashing throughout the book. Tons of visual fun for those kids in love with all kinds of trucks. I can't wait to see what other books these guys come up with!! Check out their Trucktown website - there is a section for kids, parents, and librarians (cool).

Published 2008 by Simon and Schuster

The Three Little Rigs & The Ugly Truckling by David Gordon

These books are great to read! The Three Little Rigs is (of course) similar to the classic The Three Pigs and tells the story of three rigs who manage to avoid the torture from a mean wrecking ball. The story and illustrations are fantastic. My son loves this book and I dread the day when I have to return it to the library.

The Ugly Truckling follows the classic The Ugly Duckling and tells the story of a plane who is born into a family of trucks. It is sad but in the end, of course, realizes it is a great airplane. This book is great to read too.