Pint-Sized Power! Three Cheers for Kid McGear by Sherry Duskey Rinker

It's no "Goodnight, Construction Site" for the hard-working heavy-duty machines on this job. It's early morning and this construction site is a fright!

They're all revved up, but this job looks pretty tough. Their work site is at the bottom of a bluff. But then, a flatbed drops off a new member of their crew.

The tarp comes off
and there--SURPRISE!
The crew cannot believe their eyes!

They turn and stare
At the tiny truck that's sitting there.

"I'm a skid steer--Kid McGear!" she says.

The big shovel and back-hoe and and bulldozer try to be polite to their new crew member, but they make it clear she's too small to be of any help at all.

But when Bulldozer and Shovel try to drive down the steep slope to the work site, they start to slip and slide.

HELP

Trapped in trees and mud and rubble,
Excavators--in big trouble.

But Kid McGear has the finesse and all the right moves to get the job back on track, in Sherry Duskey Rinker's latest jolly construction site story, Three Cheers for Kid McGear!: (Family Read Aloud Books, Construction Books for Kids, Children's New Experiences Books, Stories in Verse) (Chronicle Books, 2019), which introduces a new character who uses her speed and quick maneuvers to save the day for her crew, introduced in her top-selling Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site (Board Book for Toddlers, Children’s Board Book). (See reviews here) Kid McGear brings a bit of girl power to this power machinery crew in Rinker's latest installment in this beloved modern classic series, illustrated with the customary verve, zest, and personality plus by artist AG Ford.

Excavators Xmas! Where Do Diggers Celebrate Christmas? by Brianna Caplan Sayres

WHERE DO MIXERS CELEBRATE CHRISTMAS
AFTER A DAY OF HIGHWAY FIXING?
DO THEY GATHER WITH THEIR FAMILIES
FOR SOME HOMEY EGGGNOG MIXING?

How do big construction machines spend Christmas?

After a year of excavation, big machines are ready for some celebration.

Forklifts lift tons of toys and treats, and food trucks morph into menus for Christmas eats.

And where there's some holiday ice, Zambonis make it smooth and nice.

And every tiny tot wants to know...

WHERE DO TOW TRUCKS SPEND CHRISTMAS
AFTER TOWING CARS ALL DAY?
DO THEY TRADE PLACES WITH THE REINDEER
AND HELP SANTA CLAUS PULL HIS SLEIGH?

What do diggers do? Just what we do at Christmastide, in Brianna Caplan Sayres jolly new Where Do Diggers Celebrate Christmas? (Random House, 2018). Author Sayres offers up warm servings of Yuletide quatrains about big machines having holiday fun, while noted artist Christian Slade provides the charming Christmasy caricatures of construction equipment in their holiday habitats, in a picture book with scads of kid appeal, especially in the closing in which the big machines morph into their toy versions waiting under the tree for those little fans of things that go VRROOOMMM! VRROOOMMM! Pair this one with Sherry Duskey Rinker's newest best-seller, Construction Site on Christmas Night, (recent review here) for a timely twosome for a little motorhead lover's Christmas stocking.

Sharing and Caring on Site! Construction Site on Christmas Night by Sherry Dusky Rinker

It's a starry and snowy twilight down at the new construction site. What can all the big work vehicles be building on Christmas Eve?

The last big project of the year;

The team slamming into gear.

The pressure is on. A building is going up, an important building for everyone in the town. Can the crew come through?

Bulldozer's deadline is almost here.

He has a lot of ground to clear.

But Bulldozer's a pushy guy. He knows the whole crew has to wait until the site is smooth and clear. And as he finishes his shift, he finds a huge gift--a custom-made carbon steel blade.

But as Bulldozer heads to the barn, Excavator rolls onto the scene to dig the foundation, soon completed with elation! But as he heads for his berth, what meets his eyes is a big surprise--a new yellow scoop!

Cement mixer speedily putt-putts in, ready to pour concrete for the floor, and as it sets, he finds out what he gets--a gift! Who from? It's a spanking-new drum! And with a VROOM, Dump Truck hauls in bricks and mortar to build up the walls.

His tires are shot, but he gives it all he's got.

And before he retires, he gets the gift of new tires!

Then Crane Truck takes over to top off the building, and he finishes just in time to put the star on top! And best of all, his gift is a red and green wrecking ball.

The machines come through with their gift to the city--the town has a brand-new fire station with berths for fire engines and emergency vehicles. The construction site crew have come through together, in Sherry Duskey Rinker's latest, Construction Site on Christmas Night (Chronicle Books, 2018). A sweet holiday salute to work and cooperation, Rinker's rhythmic, rhyming storytelling is a satisfying tale of the values of work and joyous giving just right for this holiday season. AG Ford capably steps in to fill the big shoes of artist Tom Lichtenheld who illustrated her best-selling Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site and Mighty, Mighty Construction Site (reviews here) with lovely snowy evening scenes in familiar style, right down to the big Star resting in little Excavator's bucket. This story is a special gift to Rinker's young readers....

For all that's given and received,

And all that blessed this Christmas Eve...

A happy Christmas to all, and to all a goodnight--from the Construction Site.

Heavy Duty: Old MacDonald Had A Truck by Steve Goetz

Old MacDonald and the Mrs. are out in their big red farm truck. Are they headin' for the general store to load up on sacks of feed? After all, as we know Old MacDonald has got quite a lot of hungry, noisy livestock back on his place.

But no. They don't turn in at the general store or the Farmers Co-op. They head down the road to the heavy machinery show lot. And in no time the deal is done and...

OLD MACDONALD HAD A FARM. E-I-E-I-O!

AND ON THIS FARM HE HAD AN

EXCAVATOR! E-I-E-I-0!

WITH A DIG, DIG HERE AND A DIG, DIG THERE,

HERE A DIG, THERE A DIG, EVERYWHERE A DIG, DIG.

E-I-E-I-0

Back at the farm the excavator starts clearing the sod for SOMETHING.

A very large plot of land has been prepared. Is Farmer MacDonald putting up a new barn? A silo?

Not yet. MacDonald and his partner are off in the truck again. Soon Old MacDonald's farm has a...

WITH A SCOOP, SCOOP HERE, A SCOOP, SCOOP THERE....

...Followed by a bulldozer, a motor grader, and a ...

DUMP TRUCK (DUMP! THUMP!)... A STEAM ROLLER (SQUISH, SMASH)
AND A CEMENT MIXER (SPIN, WHIRL)

And what's shapin' up at the construction site looks to be downright different--a fer piece from a barn or silo.

MacDonald is busy supervising the hired hands, and Mrs. MacDonald seems to be soupin' up the engine and putting some mighty big wheels and tires on that red truck of theirs.

E-I-E-I-0! It looks like the MacDonald's have themselves a race track for MONSTER TRUCKS... with grandstands and concession stands all ready for the crowd, in Steve Goetz's gearhead spinoff on Old MacDonald's Farm, Old MacDonald Had a Truck (Chronicle Books, 2016). Kids who love heavy construction equipment will find their favorites, along with onomatopoeic operations a-plenty to sing about, and artist Eda Kaban uses vivid pencil and gouache comic livestock and hired hands to lend a jolly note to the construction site as well. The endpapers even sport plenty of hand tools for mechanically minded munchkins to sort out, in an altogether power-packed rebuild of the old nursery song.

"Loads of infectious fun make this a read-aloud treat," says Kirkus' starred review.