Trucks (National Geographic Readers Series) »

Who can resist trucks? They’re loud. They’re complicated. They have wheels twice as tall as your dad. Trucks! has many cool images of the trucks we know and love. There’s also curiosities like the $3 million mining truck that’s "like driving a house." This Level 1 text is revved up with sound words and images to steer young readers on the road to reading success.

Children's Literature

Readers meet Slick who like many males loves trucks. He introduces readers to a variety of them including one that is pretty common, a dump truck. Here there is an introduction to the concept of hydraulics, but not quite enough to explain how it really works, but there are examples of several trucks that use hydraulic systems. There is a pronunciation guide and a definition. Along the top of many pages there are jokes—"What has four wheels and flies? A garbage truck." That one has been around for a long time, but it will probably bring a chuckle to new readers. Kids will learn that a cement truck has to keep the mixture rolling or it will harden in the cylinder. There are also pictures of a fire truck, car carrier, and an armored truck. Slick then shows kids his big rig—the dashboard and the cab where he has a home away from home. The closing page has a four card picture dictionary and a little story on the back cover that includes many of the sounds that trucks make. A Level 1 reader in the "National Geographic Kids" series. Reviewer: Marilyn Courtot