{"id":30260,"date":"2018-11-01T23:01:26","date_gmt":"2018-11-02T03:01:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=30260"},"modified":"2018-11-01T23:01:26","modified_gmt":"2018-11-02T03:01:26","slug":"review-of-old-macdonald-had-a-truck-by-steve-goetz-and-eda-kaban","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=30260","title":{"rendered":"Review of Old MacDonald Had a Truck, by Steve Goetz and Eda Kaban"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Old MacDonald Had a Truck<\/em><\/p>\n

by Steve Goetz
\nillustrated by Eda Kaban<\/p>\n

Chronicle Books, San Francisco, 2016. 40 pages.<\/p>\n

Okay, it\u2019s an idea that had to happen. Old MacDonald\u2019s making a stunt track on his farm! We\u2019ve got the familiar song, but this time, on his farm he has:<\/p>\n

an excavator,
\na front loader,
\na bulldozer,
\na motor grader,
\na dump truck,
\na steamroller,
\na cement mixer,
\nand a truck (racing on the finished track).<\/p>\n

The various machines work with various noises like a Dig Dig, a Scooop Scoop, a Puuush Push, a Scrape Rake, a Dump Thump, a Squish Smash.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no accumulation, though, so I\u2019m thinking if I used it for storytime, I might repeat each machine page to give kids the chance to join in. Though after the sound effects page for each machine, the line at the end of the verse shows up on the next page (Old MacDonald had a farm E-I-E-I-O.), leading right into the next verse. So it\u2019s going to be a little disrupting to go back and repeat. <\/p>\n

I think, though, for reading to your own child on a lap, they\u2019re going to ask for this over and over again, and on only the second or third time through, they\u2019ll be confidently joining in. Parents and grandparents in that situation won\u2019t need to repeat any pages, since they\u2019ll be repeating the whole book!<\/p>\n

One other thing I wonder: Farm animals are helping Old MacDonald and his wife build the stunt track. Why, though, is a fox joining in? I would have rather they stuck with more traditional animals for Old MacDonald\u2019s farm. But that\u2019s a minor quibble and doesn\u2019t diminish the fun.<\/p>\n

I like what the flap says about the author: \u201cSteve Goetz was inspired to write his debut picture book when his son, Connor, began to sing \u2018Old MacDonald Had a Farm\u2019 with alternative lyrics (\u2018Old MacDonald had a Monster Truck, E \u2013 I \u2013 E \u2013 I \u2013 Ooooooo\u2019). This moment blossomed into an ongoing conversation about the heavy machinery Old MacDonald must have owned to run his farm.\u201d Indeed!<\/p>\n

This is the sort of book that makes me wonder why anyone didn\u2019t think of this before. In fact, surely someone has? But this one is carried out with exuberance.<\/p>\n

www.chroniclekids.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Picture_Books\/old_macdonald_had_a_truck.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

Disclaimer: I am a professional librarian, but I maintain my website and blogs on my own time. The views expressed are solely my own, and in no way represent the official views of my employer or of any committee or group of which I am part.<\/p>\n

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