Introduction:
This is a selective annotated bibliography about different kinds of trucks, including that of the fire and construction variation. These books are meant for children from kindergarten to grade 3. Many of these books are introducing the children to trucks and what their functions entail. These books have illustrations that are very colorful for the readers. The bibliographies are arranged alphabetically by the author’s last name using The Chicago Manual of Style, 14th edition. I have included the ISBN for the books so they are easier to purchase. Most of these books that are in the bibliography are listed in Best Books for Children Preschool through Grade 6, 6th edition and A to Zoo Subject Access to Children’s Picture Books. Since this topic is very popular with the young children few libraries hold multiple copies and consequently I had to visit several libraries.
Core Book List:
Broekel , Ray. Trucks. Chicago:
Childrens Press, 1983. ISBN 0-516-01688-1.
Trucks are used to transport people or things, they use fuel known as diesel. Trucks have a large frame, motor, and wheels. There are many types of truck bodies. There is a panel truck that delivers food, platform trucks that has a frame to keep barrels and boxes from falling out. Van trucks have long bodies, which is used to transport furniture. Dump trucks have heavy bodies to carry heavy loads. Tankers carry liquids. Tractor trailers that have a trailer that carries lots of material. Some other trucks are used for services, such as fire trucks, phone trucks, garbage trucks, and mail trucks.
Crews, Donald. Truck.
New York: Greenwillow Books, 1980.
ISBN 0-688-80244-3. ISBN 0-688-84244-5 (library binding).
In this Caldecott Award book a large tractor-trailer, which has the words “trucking” written on the side, is shown driving through the city. The street signs with words assist the truck in which direction to go. On the route, the truck passes by a tanker, city bus, and a panel truck while on its way out of the city towards its destination. The illustrations are colorful and show the creativity of the author.
Gibbons, Gail. Fire!
Fire! New York: Harper
Collins, 1984. ISBN 0-690-04417-8. ISBN 0-690-04416-X (library binding).
Fire fighters respond to a call a man’s house caught on a fire because of a towel on the stove. After dialing 911 the fire fighters was dispatched. The fir men raced to the scene and the fire chief accessed the best way to fight the fore that was on the 5th floor of the building. Four fire trucks arrive at the building. A few firemen entered the building to see if there were any people. Other firemen went to the roof to break holes to let out dangerous gases that are harmful. The rest of the firemen were working outside the building with hoses. Once the fire was under control they all returned back to the firehouse to organize and clean their equipment.
Korman, Justine. Working Hard
With the Mighty Dump Truck. New York: Scholastic, 1993. ISBN 0-590-46481-7.
Dan makes sure that his dump truck is full of fuel because he has a busy day ahead of him. At the construction site the other trucks are already at work. The bulldozer cuts the ground while the backhoe digs. The dump truck holds a lot of dirt and dumps it into the ditch. Dan’s dump truck gets full of stones by the loader. Dan has to pull over on his way to another construction site to allow the fire trucks to pass. At the construction site Dan’s dump truck dumps sand into a cement mixer. The day is over and Dan drives his dump truck back home.
Potter, Tony. See How it Works
Trucks. New York: Macmillan Publishing, 1989. ISBN 0-689-71301-0.
With see through pages Jan shows the different parts of her truck where she works daily. There are many trucks that are used to do many different jobs. Jan’s truck is a tractor trailer that can bend where the cab is located. Dan drives a one piece truck which delivers ice cream. The cement mixer is an example of a heavy truck, they need many wheels so the trucks do not damage the roads. Earth movers are used to work on construction sites such as the payloader. If a truck breaks down the driver can usually fix the problem, but sometimes a tow truck might have to come.
Rockwell, Anne. Fire
Engines. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1986. ISBN 0-525-44259-6.
The story is told by a Dalmatian dog who is driving a toy fire engine in the living room. He tells how he likes trucks and enjoys watching the fire trucks being washed with his father. He knows that the ladder is used to help the firemen reach the top of buildings. The hoses are connected to a fire hydrant to extinguish a fire. Fire trucks are yellow and red but the Dalmatian prefers the red one. A firehouse ambulance assists the firemen if anyone is hurt. The firemen return home tired but brave and strong. The Dalmatian dog wants to grow up and become a fire fighter.
Rockwell,
Anne. Trucks. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1984. ISBN 0-525-44147-6.
Cats introduce the reader to different kinds of trucks and what they do. The cats begin by seeing a moving truck being used to move a family of cats. Flower trucks are used to deliver flowers. Tow trucks are used to tow cars. The ice cream truck is selling ice cream to the cats in the community. The garbage trucks take the garbage away from the houses. A truck full of water is seen cleaning the streets.
Simon, Norma. Fire
Fighters. New York: Simon Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1995.
ISBN 0-689-80280-3.
The life of fire fighters is portrayed in this book by Dalmatian dogs. When the bell rings in the fire house the firemen slide down the pole and pull on their heavy pants, jackets, and boots. The fire truck with its siren blaring travels through the streets to put out a fire at a burning building. The cars which are driven by dogs are pulled off to the side of the road to allow the fire truck to pass. Once everyone is rescued the fire fighters return to the fire house and rest. The fire trucks are washed and the equipment is checked so that everything is ready for the next fire.
Sis, Peter. Fire Trucks.
New York: Greenwillow Books, 1998. ISBN 0-688-15878-1.
A simple story about a young boy named Matt who adores trucks. It begins in the morning with Matt’s first words being fire truck. One day he wakes up and turns into a fire truck. As a fire truck Matt is the driver he has 2 ladders, 3 hoses, 4 flashing lights, 5 helmets, 6 big wheels, 7 hooks, 8 loud sirens, 9 sharp axes, and 10 black boots. As a fire truck he travels with his sirens and lights through his neighborhood. He pretends that he has to save a cat, put out a fire, and rescue a teddy bear. Matt smells pancakes in the kitchen so he parks his truck and begins to eat.
Wolfe, Sally. Peter’s Truck.
Illinois: Albert Whitman & Company, 1992. ISBN 0-8075-6519-9.
A colorful story about a boy named Peter who lives in the city. As he walks through his neighborhood he always finds trucks, but Peter is not familiar with what they do. He asks the drivers of the milk truck if there is a cow in there. The driver answers with no just milk. Later he approaches a tanker and asks the driver if he has milk, but the driver answers no just gas. While Peter is playing hop scotch with friends he sees a panel truck he asks the driver if there is gas in there. The driver says no just a piano. While Peter is home in his doorway he sees a garbage truck, he asks if there is a piano in there and they answer no just garbage. Later while walking on the sidewalk he asks the ice cream driver if there is garbage. The story continues in this type of pattern and in the end Peter learns the many uses of trucks.
Related Titles:
Bingham, Caroline. Big
Book Of Trucks. New York: DK Publishing, 1999. ISBN 0-7894-8536-8.
Trucks come in all sorts of color and shapes. A mobile home toter moves a mobile home complete with all its furnishing to its destination. The mirrors are able to go out four feet to allow the driver to see. A logging truck is able to carry twenty to thirty tree trunks at a time. The driver has use caution when driving down hill. A cement mixer’s drum always has to turn or the concrete will dry and be of no use. Road trains are common in Australia and they are able to haul up to 12 carriages but they usually haul three. The giant dump truck can not travel on roads because of its weight. It uses six gallons of fuel for every mile that it travels. The amphibious truck is very rare and can drive off the road and into water. The top can flip open and it becomes a bridge.
Bingham, Caroline. Big
Rig. New York: DK Publishing, 1996. ISBN 0-7894-0575-X.
The semitrailer has a very powerful engine that is used to haul heavy loads. It has two sections, the tractor and the trailer. The driver is able to sleep in his cab if traveling overnight. Big tree trunks are taken to the sawmill by an open trailer which is secured by cables. A truck is accompanied by the police when he is carrying a big load such as a house. The concrete mixer truck has the drum turning to keep its load mixed so it does not clog.
Bingham, Caroline. Fire Truck. New
York: DK Publishing, 1995. ISBN 0-7894-0212-2.
Describes the many types of fire trucks that we see traveling to fight fires. An aerial ladder truck helps fight fires because the firemen can climb the ladder to tall buildings. The pumper engine has enough water only to extinguish a small fire. If more water is needed the hose can be attached to the fire hydrant. There is also special equipment trucks to fight fires that can not use water. A crash rescue vehicle is used to put out fires from an airplane since it is able to put out a fire in two minutes. A fire-fighting plane has to scoop water from the lake and fills its tank to put out a fire.
Cuetara, Mittie. The Crazy
Crawler Crane and Other Very Short Truck Stories. New York: Dutton
Children’s Books, 1998. ISBN 0-525-45951-0.
A series of short rhyming stories with different trucks illustrations on each page. The fire fighters look tired after they had to rescue a cat from a tree. The school bus driver tries to make the children to sit. The crane manages to grab a child, Jane. The tow truck tows a car after it hits a fruit van. Boots get stuck once the cement has been poured. Both Joe and Jill takes turns sleeping while the other drives the tractor-trailer. At age three the boy works hard using his dump truck at the construction site. The excavator spits out his meal of stones after he crunches it.
Jennings, Terry. Cranes, Dump
Trucks, Bulldozers and Other Building Machines. New York: Kingfisher Books,
1993. ISBN 1-85697-866-4 (library binding) ISBN 1-85697-865-6 (paperback).
Details the way that different machines operate. Excavators use levers to assist them in doing their work. The platform of an excavator can move around and the cab is soundproof to protect the driver. Most building machines have two kinds of controls, one for driving and the other is hydraulic to operate rams. Twin rams help the dump truck to dump his load. Tower cranes use pulleys to lift loads. If an old building needs to be torn down the wrecking crane is used. The drum of a cement mixer is able to turn in two different directions. It can mix the cement and raise the mouth of the drum to pour the cement down the chute. Some machines that push is the bulldozer, it prepares the land by clearing the ground. Rolling machines use their weight to pave the roads so the cars and trucks do not break up.
Llewellyn, Claire. Trucks. New
York: DK Publishing, 1995. ISBN 1-56458-516-6.
The first giant truck was the dump truck which hauls rocks and dirt and dumps it wherever it is needed. The excavator with its big bucket arm is used for digging up soil. The bulldozer is used for cutting and pushing rubble so the land is ready to be built on. The backhoe loader loads up dirt to be removed and other trucks was utilized. The wheel loader is a machine that can shovel, lift, and load heavy things.
Marston, Hope Irvin. Big Rigs.
New York: Cobblehill Books, 1993.
ISBN 0-525-65123-3.
A big rig is the biggest truck that contains two parts, a tractor and a trailer. The tractor has the engine and the cab. The trailer is attached behind the cab. Big rigs are also called eighteen wheelers because there are ten wheels on the tractor and eight on the trailer. The fifth wheel is where the tractor is connected to the trailer or the semi. The driver uses air brakes to slow down his truck. The smokestacks lets out the fuel that is being burned. If the truck driver is driving alone he has to pull over and sleep in his sleeper. There are many emblems that show the different makes of trucks. Truck drivers use CB radios to communicate about accidents, traffic, or police.
Royston, Angela. Diggers and
Dump Trucks. New York: Simon Schuster, 1991. ISBN 0-689-71516-1.
The reader is introduced to the bulldozer which makes the land ready to be built on by pushing the rubble with its blade. The excavator digs enormous holes and the bucket is used to pick up the dirt. The tilting dumper which rocks from side to side can travel over uneven terrain. The backhoe has a bucket in the back to dig holes and a shovel in the front to push the dirt over the holes. The dump truck carries sand or gravel to a building site and unloads the material. The forklift can carry and move heavy bricks around the building site. A giant dump truck is used when a tunnel or road has to be built.
Royston, Truck Trouble. New
York: DK Publishing, 1998. ISBN 0-7894-2958-6.
John gets ready to make a delivery by reading his map and stopping at the station to check his engine. He had to add some oil and fill up his gas tank. A forklift put the cargo into John’s truck. John and the factory workers had to unload the boxes then he was off to his next delivery. John calls a tow truck to take a van to the garage and keeps traveling until he gets tired and pulls to the side of the road to sleep in his cab. When he wakes up John finds that he has a flat tire so he hurries and changes it before driving to his final destination a children’s party at a new hospital.
Stille, Darlene. Trucks.
New York: Children’s Press, 1997. ISBN 0-516-20343-6 (library binding). ISBN 0-516-26179-7 (paperback).
Trucks are motor vehicles that are seen on many different types of roads. Tractor-trailers carry heavy cargo and a metal plate connects the tractor to the trailer. Platform trucks carry animals and produce. Smaller trucks do not have a cab such as a panel truck. Fire trucks, tow trucks, and utility trucks are called emergency trucks. Flatbed trucks carry logs from trees. Refrigeration trucks which are cool in the inside carry food. Some construction trucks are so big that they can not use the roads. They must stay at the construction site.
Hope you enjoy these books!