"Movin' On Out!" Road Crew, Coming Through! (Construction Sites) by Sherri Duskey Rinker

The workday is done. It's time to head out. But the highway is full; drivers cringe and shout!

It's time to call the Construction Crew. They're the guys who know what to do. It's time to build a bigger, better ...

. . . SUPER HIGHWAY, A MEGA ROAD.

SIX MIGHTY FRIENDS ARE ON THEIR WAY.

TO HELP WITH SOMETHING BIG TODAY.

All the usual suspects are there--Excavator, Dump Truck, and Skid Steer, to dig and and haul away. But...

SOMETHING NEW.

TO JOIN THE BIG ROAD BUILDING CREW.

(THERE'S A GIANT JOB TO DO!).

There are more needed on this job--Bulldozer clears the stumps and boulders, and Scraper smooths it all out. Water Truck comes along to sprinkle down the dust and keep the air clean. Scraper, Grader, Compacter, and Roller makes the roadbed flat and smooth and hard, yard by yard. Paver lays the blacktop down all around, Crane Truck adds the signs and lights, and Striper Truck paints the yellow and white lines so that the drivers know where they should go.

The job of the big machines, the Road Crew, is done ....

EVERYONE IS ON THEIR WAY--

HEADING HOME TO END THEIR DAY.

The moon is rising; the time is right.--Time for a good night back at the construction site.

Sherri Duskey Rinker, the celebrated prolific writer about those beloved BIG MACHINES, from cranes to trains, introduces them all from her first builder book, to her latest in her new Construction Sites series, Construction Site: Road Crew, Coming Through! (Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site) (Chronicle Books, 2021)

With Rinker's pleasant, bouncy, and rhyming versification, and illustrator AG Ford's jolly anthropomorphic construction rigs happily on the job, this one is sure to please preschoolers and primary readers of the motorhead persuasion who would love to park Rinker's books on their bookshelf.

Share this new one with Sherry Duskey Rinker's Construction Site: Mission Demolition! (Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site), and Construction Site: Merry and Bright: A Christmas Lift-the-Flap Book (Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site)

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.

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.

Can We Build It? Builder Goose: by Boni Ashburn

HERE WE GO 'ROUND THE CONSTRUCTION SITE,
THE CONSTRUCTION SITE, THE CONSTRUCTION SITE...
...ON A SUNNY MONDAY MORNING!

Mother Goose may be busy looking for the muffin man, but Builder Goose is already hard at work down at the construction site, and he has an array of tools and vehicles at hand to help.

But then, all good little construction books have colorful pictures of dump trucks, steam shovels, and front loaders. Boni Ashburn's brand-new Builder Goose: It's Construction Rhyme Time! (Sterling, 2012) takes a new tack on the "Can We Build It?" theme. Ashburn has versified the construction process from preliminary plans to final cleanup with a charming re-write of Mother Goose's old-fashioned manuscript, coming up with wry little modern rhymes that get the job done with verve and bounce.

"SING A SONG OF GARBAGE.
A BUCKETFUL OF TRASH.
FOUR AND TWENTY LOADS OF IT,
READY TO BE MASHED!

Everything from wheelbarrows to heavy graders, excavators to an (itsy-bitsy) skid steer are celebrated in the rhyme scheme and meter of famous children's rhymes, familiar favorites from "This Old Man" (This Little Forklift,) as "Little Jack Horner (Little Jack Hammer) do their thing in the appealing primary-color illustrations of Sergio di Georgi, giving this new book for preschool construction fans a joyful day on the job site. Pair this one with Sherri Rinker's dynamic new best-seller, Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site, (see my review here) for a skyscraper of a storytime!

Bedtime for Builders:; Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site by Sherry Rinker

DOWN IN THE BIG CONSTRUCTION SITE
THE TOUGH TRUCKS WORK WITH ALL THEIR MIGHT.

THE SUN HAS SET, THE WORK IS DONE.
IT'S TIME FOR TRUCKS TO END THEIR FUN.

Crane hoists a last I-beam, Cement Mixer spreads his final load, and Dump Truck deposits his last run of rip rap, as twilight falls over the construction site. Even heavy equipment goes off duty at night, and these rough and tough big boys must finally head for their nocturnal parking places as the crescent moon rises over their site, nestling itself cozily in the basket of the power shovel in a moment of lunar laziness.

Sherry Rinker's and Tom Lichtenheld's best-selling new Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site (Chronicle Books, 2011) is just the lullaby needed for those kids who toddle off to their trundle beds with a toy bulldozer instead of a teddy for a bed buddy. With Rinker's sweet and simple rhyming text and Lichtenheld's irresistible anthropomorphizing big builders, this one is sure to become a bedtime classic, fun to read aloud and great to have read to you, a story which salutes the excitement of BIG machines and still manages to put in a plug for snooze time. Make this one the nightcap that follows Kate and Jim McMullan's I'm Dirty! or any of the Jon Scieszka's Trucktown series to use to send young gearheads rolling off to a power bedtime.

This little book really revved up the reviewers' engines. Here are a few of them cranking up rhapsodies of prose for this one: "Lichtenheld's detailed and textured illustrations, rendered in wax oil pastels on vellum paper, perfectly complement the fun, rhyming text, cleverly personifying each truck with expressive eyes and amusing details. ...Recommended for vehicle- and bedtime-themed storytimes, this is sure to be a hit with truck-loving preschoolers." -(School Library Journal, starred review);" "A delightful debut." says The New York Times ; and not to be knocked out of the praise race, Booklist adds, " A standout picture book, especially for those who like wheels with their dreams."

Watch the book's brief and breezy trailer here, and you'll see why kids will really DIG this book.

Back on the Job : Mighty, Mighty Construction Site by Sherry Duskey Rinker

Down in the big construction site,
Five trucks wake to morning light.

Little Power Shovel seems to be giving a lift to the rising sun, as the usual suspects--Dump Truck, 'Dozer, Cement Mixer, and little Excavator--feel their diesels beginning to rev up and rumble. It's time to get up and get on the job.

After all, they're professionals.

But at the new construction site, when the blueprint for the new job is unrolled, the gang of five's headlights blink with surprise.

They stare in awe--the biggest thing they ever saw.

The little crew realizes that, as good as they are, they are going to have to have some help on this new construction site.

Cement Mixer hits his horn with a loud, long blast.

Mighty trucks all heard the call.
They started up in no time at all.

Out on the road they drive, full steam.
They rush right in to join the team.

And soon the new guys--Skid Steer, Backhoe, Flatbed, Front Loader, and Pumper--are working away, already members of the new crew. Together they're movers and shakers, and as the sun sinks lower, warming the scene with its red-gold light, they take pride in how much they've accomplished together.

Cooperation got it done.
Teamwork made it fast and fun.

In her brand-new companion book to her perpetual best-seller, Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site (read review here) Sherry Duskey Rinker has another hard-hat hit in her Mighty, Mighty Construction Site (Chronicle Books, 2017), illustrated with gloriously lighted scenes and hardware humor by major artist Tom Lichtenheld.

Rinker and Lichtenheld are themselves exemplars of teamwork, with Rinker's romping rhymes melding well with Lichtenheld's charmingly anthropomorphic big machines with personality plus, doing whatever it takes to get the job done. This new one is perfect for young gearheads who delight in dump trucks and mighty diggers and a delight to the eye with the Lichtenheld's flowing spreads done up in the colors of raw earth. Says School Library Journal, "Filled with vibrant illustrations and rich vocabulary, this rhyming tale is sure to make readers grin as brightly as the smiling vehicles in the book!"

Gettin' There Any Old Way! The Twelve Sleighs of Christmas by Sherri Duskey Rinker

Two weeks before Christmas, and every elf,
Is building, rushing, racing, busy--
Every elf in a tizzy!

It's a full-court press on the production line at Santa's Workshop. It's not a good time for a sleigh malfunction!

The sleigh is totaled, smashed, and battered!
The elves are rocked! They're shocked! It's shattering!

Santa's old sleigh does have a lot of miles on it, and the elves suddenly conceive the idea of total redesign. It's their one chance to pimp Santa's ride! Who knew Santa's elves were such a bunch of gearheads?

They form twelve teams, each working on their concept of a hi-tech twenty-first century Santa sleigh, and they work furiously, all through the long dark days of the polar pre-Christmas week. It's the Great Sleigh Build Off. And then--it's SHOW TIME!

Build Team One unveils a hyper-powered dragster which gets off the mark in a nano-second. But then one elf asks if the kids of the world could possibly sleep through the roar of this mighty machine!

Build Team Two rolls out their big-rig, a semi that even boasts a sleeper cab in case Santa needs a nap. But another elf wonders out loud if there's a roof anywhere in the world than can support that 18-wheeler. Build Team Three has the answer, a multi-sail rebuild of a airborne pirate ship which hovers over children's houses and jettisons their gifts overboard. The other elves roll their eyes. Seriously? What about breakage?

The concept models get more and more overbuilt, and the elves sheepishly realize that they've let their fantasy rides get way over the top. And Santa's big trip is almost at hand!

But one young elf has secretly been working on Plan B all along, in Sherri Duskey Rinker's new hit, The 12 Sleighs of Christmas (Chronicle Books, 2017). Staying with the transportation theme that she rolled out her first best-seller, Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site, Rinker's latest is set for take off as the hit of the season. With jolly rhymes, roaring motors, and clever cartooning by artist Jake Parker, this is a funny and festive story of how, once more, St. Nick keeps his promise to come on Christmas Eve. Says School Library Journal, "The colorful illustrations, created in brush pen and rendered digitally, are a perfect fit for sleigh creations reminiscent of Dr. Seuss' imaginative vehicles. A splendid choice for any holiday read-aloud collection wishing to incorporate STEM concepts." Santa and STEM? What more could we want in a comic Christmas eve bedtime story?

Sherri Duskey Rinker is, of course, the high-powered author of those other motorhead-motivated best sellers, Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site, Mighty, Mighty Construction Site, Steam Train, Dream Train and her recent Big Machines: The Story of Virginia Lee Burton.

Hardhat Cats: Construction Kitties by Judy Sue Goodwin Sturgis

THE SUN IS UP.
TIME FOR WORK.
CONSTRUCTION KITTIES
GRAB THEIR HATS,
INTO THEIR TRUCKS.

Four cute kitties--a black, brown, black-and-white, and gray-striped kitten--are the construction crew. They slip on their hardhats, jump into their crew-cab truck, and head off the building site as the sun is rising.

Waiting for them are all those cool construction vehicles--a loader, excavator, dump truck and backhoe--and the cats dig into their dirt-moving duties until the sun is high in the sky.

At noon the kitties knock off for lunch--milk, sandwiches and sardines--and one kitty take a bit of a cat nap until it's time to return to the job. Kitties drive crawlers and steer their 'dozers until their job is done and the construction site has shaped up into a nice flat space for a feline playground.  Soon it is sundown, and it's time to hop down from the drivers' seats,  hang up those hardhats, and head homeward.

A JOB WELL DONE!

Judy Sue Goodwin Sturgis' just-out Construction Kitties (Henry Holt, 2013) has appealing kitties and all the best-loved construction gear that preschoolers dote on. Artist Shari Halpern's blackline pen-and-ink figures and full-bleed color pages, with the heavy equipment shown in carefully detailed profile, drive the rudiments of dirt-moving home with aplomb. "A good addition to construction-machine collections everywhere," says Kirkus.

Pair this one with Sherri Rinker's and Tom Lichtenheld's best-selling, dirt-moving Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site (see my review here)-- with comment from the author herself-- for a doubly moving experience.

Signals! Go! Go! Go! Stop! by Charise Mericle Harper

ONE DAY LITTLE GREEN SAID A WORD.

IT WAS HIS FIRST WORD. HE HAD NEVER SPOKEN BEFORE.

THE WORD WAS GO!

There's bridge to be built, and the gang's all there--Dump Truck, Forklift, Crane, Bulldozer, Power Shovel--roarin' and rarin' to begin.

This is what they were meant to do, and the construction vehicles get going, doing their thing.  They dig, they shove, load, they lift and shovel, and pour. The construction site is filled with hustle and bustle.

But there's a problem! When everybody is focused on doing his one thing, nothing much gets accomplished.

And then Little Green rolls into town.  He finds his niche in a tall frame, and switches into action.

GO! GO! GO!

The crew gets in line, and things start to move. They bustle and hustle and zoom around.

They bump into each other. It's all a bit crazy.

LITTLE GREEN TRIED WHISPERING,

HOPING IT WOULD SLOW THINGS DOWN.

But things don't improve. There's such a thing as too much of a good thing! All go is a no-go for builders. But just in time, a new dude rolls into town. His name is Little Red. He has one word for all of the gung-ho on-the-go boys.

STOP!

Little Red fits right in, below Little Green in the frame.

LITTLE RED AND LITTLE GREEN WERE EXACT OPPOSITES, BUT THEY TRIED TO WORK TOGETHER.

After a bit of experimentation they get their act together, signalling the builders when to go and when to stop, and the bridge construction site is beginning to shape up. But it seems there's one control concept they still need!

THEN LITTLE YELLOW SLID INTO TOWN.

HE HAD SOMETHING TO SAY.

SLOW DOWN!

Charise Mericle Harper's newest picture book project, Go! Go! Go! Stop! Alfred A. Knopf, 2014), uses the cartooning skill the author/illustrator used to good effect in her notable Just Grace
beginning chapter books to come up with a creative combination of construction, colors, and traffic signal concepts. Harper's illustrations have a lot of detail that will keep young power vehicle fans poring over the action on each page, and the idea of personifying traffic lights as the necessary arbiters of systematic order carry a social message cleverly embedded in this story.

Kirkus' starred review cheers, "A wonderful read-aloud and a lighthearted and lively celebration of action words!"

Pair this one with Rinker's perennial best-selling rhyming tale, Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site, or Ashburn's Mother Goose mash-up, Builder Goose: It's Construction Rhyme Time! (see review here: .

Getting to the Bottom of It! Peek-A-Flap DIG! by Jay Garrett

AT A CONSTRUCTION SITE, DIFFERENT KINDS OF MACHINES HAVE DIFFERENT JOBS TO DO!

Kids and puppies love to dig, and Jaye Garett's Dig: Peek-a-Flap Board Book will make at least fifty percent of that bunch VERY happy.

This brightly illustrated board book offers a pair of sturdy lift-the-flap opportunities on each page which help the very youngest lovers of big diggers learn the names and jobs of their favorite construction machines.

Accompanied by colorful illustrations by Mattia Cerato, each one is revealed doing what they do best. Featured machines are the crane and wrecking ball, level, asphalt mixer and layer, front loader, excavators and power shovels, all with their own special flap and additional information for the older construction fanciers. Little fingers will love lifting the flaps as young readers learn to identify the machines inside.

A few run-throughs of this book and youngsters will be ready for a rhyming romp through Sherry Duskey Rinker's best-seller, Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site and Rinker's diurnal cycle sequel, Mighty, Mighty Construction Site (see review here).

Can You Dig It? Little Excavator by Anna Dewdney

Here come the BIG RIGS
rolling down the street.

Thumpa Thumpa! Bumpa Bumpa!
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

There's a major project in the works, as the heavy-duty movers and shakers arrive at the construction site. There's 'Dozer and Loader, and Backhoe and Crane....

And trailing behind, making tracks as fast as his little treads can rotate, is Little Excavator, followed by his spotted pooch pal. Little E is born to dig, but he's not quite ready to rumble with with the big boys.

The Big Rigs arrive to prep the site, and with a rumble and a crumble the sturdy big "Dozer takes down a stone wall with no difficulty. But when he gives it a try, Little E winds up amid the debris.

Big Loader moves up with a growl to transfer the broken stones into Dump Truck's load bed. GrrrrRrrrarrr!

Little E tries lifting some JUNK, JUNK, JUNK!

But the load in his little scoop is too much for the diminutive digger. He turns over with a CLUNK!

Little E is embarrassed! Dump Truck orders him out of his way as he lugs his load off the site, chugging away mightily. Little E tries to help dig holes, but Backhoe shoos him away. Little E backs up, and his little headlight eyes get big as he watches the very tall Crane maneuver into position to swing a whole bridge across the pond to a little island. The new park is beginning to shape up. There is only one task left to do--planting an apple tree in the center of the little island. Little E is sad that he hasn't been able to help the Big Rigs at all.

But, wait! There's a problem! The lovely little footbridge to the island is too small for any of the heavy-duty rigs to cross!

Who is small enough to drive over the bridge and dig a small hole for the little apple tree?

Who can it be? "Little E!" all little listeners will reply with glee, in Anna Dewdney's brand-new construction tale, Little Excavator (Viking Books, 2017).

Dewdney's onomatopoetic rhymes are rhythmically repetitive, encouraging youngsters to chime in, and Dewdney's illustrations of the doughty little digger are a pure delight. Done in a departure from the familiar style in her Llama Llama series, her work in this story fits right in with the famous anthropomorphic earth movers of children's literature, from Burton's Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel 75th Anniversary to Rinker's Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site. Dewdney's Little E has personality plus, staying right where he longs to be, and pleased to place that little tree where it belongs to make the new park perfect. Kids will identify right away with this eager little digger who proves he has the right stuff to help out, and Dewdney has again given children's literature a new classic with all the ample art and the heart of her earlier books.

Kirkus stars their review and celebrates Anna Dewdney's latest, giving Little Excavator  an "A+ for Little E and his creator!"

Following in Her Tracks! Big Machines: The Story of Virginia Lee Burton by Sherri Duskey Rinker

For everyone in seaside Folly Cove, Virginia Lee Burton was just Jinnee.

Anyone who meets Jinnee will tell you that she is quite magical.

Jinnee Burton was a lovely, graceful woman--a strong professional dancer, a skillful journalist, an artistic soul who loved fabric design, gardening, and all the animals on her small farm, and to her two small boys, Aris and Michael, she was a wizard who could draw anything they wanted. And what they wanted was Big Machines--huge, honking machines, movers and shakers, strong, powerful, and capable of making and doing almost anything. Just like their mother Jinnee.

It begins with a line: black and rough.
Then a squiggle... and a rub.
As little Aris watches, a puff
of smoke appears, clears,
and then...

WHOOOooo oo oo! a whistle cries.
"I see a train!" says Aris! "More! Do more!"

Choo Choo was Jinnee's first picture story of a little runaway train. But then it was Michael's turn to choose, and he wanted a big digger that could build big things, and Jinnee created a steam shovel who dug great railroad beds, highways and runways, and foundations for skyscrapers, but wasn't too proud to dig a cellar for a schoolhouse for his owner Mike. That was Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel. But her boys wanted still more, so Jinnee's magic wand created a heroic little snowplow, and along came Katy and the Big Snow and then the hill-climbing Maybelle the Cable Car.

And then Jinnee had an idea that combined the quaint cottages of her beloved Folly Cove with the big trucks and trains and diggers and builders her boys loved. It was her memorable Caldecott Award-winning The Little House, a delightful story about both the big machines that changed the American landscape into great cities but also a story of returning to the roots, a grassy hillside home for the Little House, a parable that was both of its time and surely ahead of its time in its contemplation of urbanization.

Virginia Lee Burton was a American original who captured the spirit of her time in stories that delighted children while resonating with grownups in their ethos of hard work and loyalty and their sense of place in mid-century American. And Sherri Duskey Rinker's new celebration of Burton's work Big Machines: The Story of Virginia Lee Burton (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2017) is also a celebration of the art of the picture book itself. Newbery winner John Rocco (for Blizzard) puts his superb draftsmanship to work portraying Burton's art perfectly, even showing her hands at work, sketching and painting her trademark illustrations, right down to an idyllic apple tree with swings for Aris and Michael beside the happy little pink house we all know and love.

Rinker, whose best-sellers Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site and Mighty, Mighty Construction Site pay skillful writerly homage to Burton's big machines stories, follows Burton's lead, giving the Arises and Michaels of today what they wanted--"More!" A first purchase for all libraries and picture book lovers everywhere.