Six Picture Books about Trucks
here come the trucks
Our previous recommendations, including fairy tale picture books and ABC books, are here.
Tote bags and posters are available at the Looking at Picture Books Shop.
Jon and Mac Recommend Six Truck Books
My son is four and loves picture books about trucks. He loves them a lot, to the point that people say to me, “Ooh, I bet you’re going to write a truck book soon.” But I don’t think I will. Kids who love trucks can sniff out a fellow truck enthusiast. I’m afraid I’d be immediately identified as a poseur. (Jon has a truck book coming though. Good for him.) Growing up, I didn’t have much interest in truck books—my favorite genre was “animals tricking each other.” But now I love them. I’m grateful for the authors and illustrators who write great picture books about transportation, not just because their books speak so deeply to my son, but also because they’ve given me a better understanding of how he thinks and what he loves. I’ve been learning a lot about trucks!
As usual, we’re recommending books that have been around for awhile. There are many great books about trucks being published today (one of our favorite recent picture books happens to be about trucks). Also, Richard Scarry isn’t on here but we love him. And of course, there are also all those books with, like, 30 photographs of garbage trucks accompanied by reams of information about the differences between front-loaders and side-loaders. Those books are very popular in our house, and judging by the creased and buttery pages of any copy you find in the library, they’re popular in many other houses too. That stuff is a whole different beast, though.
Finally, if you or a truck-loving kid you know is outraged that a book about a steam shovel was included on this list, remember to direct all hate mail to Mr. Jon Klassen.
—MAC
Trucks, by Byron Barton
Barton is one of the all-time greats of picture book nonfiction. He gives you the facts without sacrificing the musicality inherent in the picture book’s form. He makes poetry out of processes.
Beginnings and endings are his speciality. Just look at the first two spreads of Trucks.
What a page-turn.
Various trucks and their functions are detailed—bread trucks, tow trucks, hot dog trucks. I know this book looks simple—most of his books do—but it is very, very hard to make stuff this good.
Barton has a particular genius for finding rhythms—in language, in pictures, and, here, in his choice of trucks—that create narrative satisfaction, even though there isn’t a plot.
—MAC