Every week I write about the books that we read for my son. He is currently 4 years old and loves a good book! Most of the books come from the Nashville Public Library. Although we buy a good book or two every now and then. I am not a professional book and illustration reviewer or critic, but I can write about the book, what I think about it, and how our son reacted to it.
Book Information
Title: Troto and the Trucks
Author & Illustrator: Uri Shulevitz
Published by: Farrar Strauss Giroux Books for Young Readers
Copyright 2015 by Uri Shulevitz
About the Author & Illustrator
According to Wikipedia:
Uri Shulevitz is an American writer and illustrator of children’s books. He won the 1969 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration, recognizing The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship, a Russian fairy tale retold by Arthur Ransome in 1916.
Uri Shulevitz was born in Warsaw, Poland, on February 27, 1935. During the bombing of Warsaw in 1939, a bomb fell into a stairwell of his apartment building when he was at home. The family fled from Poland and settled in Paris by 1947, then moved again to Israel in 1949.
Shulevitz moved to New York City in 1959, studying painting at Brooklyn Museum Art School and working as an illustrator for a Hebrew children’s book publisher. In 1962, an editor at Harper & Row saw his freelance portfolio and suggested he write children’s books. He created his first picture book, The Moon in My Room, in 1963.
Shulevitz lives in New York City.
Story
Troto and the Trucks follows the adventure of Troto, a small car as he moves from one place to another. The story takes place in the desert in a “Wild West” town called Cactusville. There, he encounters three big trucks who make fun of him because of his small size.
Troto then confronts the bullies and challenges them to a race. Each of the three trucks encounters difficulties: a flat tire, almost toppling over, and being stuck between two rocks. That’s how Troto managed to outrun them all. Troto wins the race and wins the respect of the big trucks.
Values
The book teaches about the importance of not judging anyone by their looks, and acknowledging each one’s unique traits. By standing up to the bullies, Troto can teach a child about courage.
Caution
One thing that bothered me just a bit, though, is that Troto won through the misfortune of the big trucks, and not through his own ingenuity and skill.
Artwork
The drawings are cool and would appeal to kids. Colors stand out from the page and reflect the earth colors of the desert. Most of the pages have one-line sentence to move the story along.
Fun Factor
Over all, our son loved this book. He enjoyed seeing Troto race the bigger trucks. He has watched all Cars movies, so he is definitely into cars. This is a good, short read.