Hush, Little Trucker

August 15, 2021
Put together tunes and trucks and you have the perfect singalong for any vehicular storytime. The melody of "Hush, Little Baby" gets a proper workout in this tale of a child, the snow, and a truck-savvy mom. As the book opens, a little kid is distraught beyond measure. "Hush, little trucker, you're in luck. / Mama's gonna find your lost toy truck." The two, who both present as East Asian, venture out into the snow to look for it. Once they are outside, vehicles pop up, one after another, to help them. If that truck is "sunk too deep" that just means you'll need a jeep! And if the jeep ends up in a drift? Well, then they'll just have to use a tall forklift. As each vehicle is stuck or abandoned in the snowbanks, a new one comes to fill in the ranks. By the time a crane is lifting a front-end loader into the air, mama and child decide to dig into the snow themselves. Adapting the text to the lullaby tune provides a natural storyline. Meanwhile, animation-style art conjures up a winter wonderland worthy of this duo's imaginary play, complete with details that subtly show that the lost toy is a replica of Mama's own, very real tow truck. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Prep those vocal cords and sing your scales, because this is a book that begs to be sung repeatedly and with gusto. (Picture book. 2-5)

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