McToad Mows Tiny Island
A Transportation Tale by Tom Angleberger
Pictures by John Hendrix
Abrams Books for Young Readers, New York, 2015. 32 pages.
As its caption says, this is a Transportation Tale for little ones who love cars and trucks and things that go.
The text is simple, and the pictures carry the story.
McToad likes Thursdays.
Every other day of the week he mows the grass on Big Island.
But Thursday is the day he mows Tiny Island.
A map filling the double-page spread shows that Big Island is indeed Big and Tiny Island is indeed tiny.
But to get the lawn mower to Tiny Island? That process is what this book is about.
McToad drives the lawn mower onto a truck, which takes it to a train, where it’s loaded using a forklift, and then is taken to the airport. At the airport a conveyor belt takes it onto an airplane which flies to the other side of Big Island. There a baggage buggy takes the lawn mower to a helicopter, which flies it to a dock where it’s lowered onto the deck of a boat. Then a crane on the boat lowers the lawn mower onto Tiny Island.
Tiny Island is indeed tiny. So it’s amusing that McToad takes a break in the middle of the job. When he finishes mowing, it’s time to take the lawn mower back.
It’s funny to me that adding the simple storyline makes this book much more interesting than your typical list-of-vehicles book. Of course, the pictures are delightful. McToad pilots every vehicle with his never-changing, satisfied smile.
McToad likes Thursdays.
Kids who like vehicles will like this book.
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