Publishers Weekly
Hansel and Diesel joins The Ugly Truckling and The Three Little Rigs in David Gordon's series of classic retellings with modes of transport in the starring roles. When the gas runs low, a pair of pick-up siblings leave a trail of bolts as they go in search of more fuel and meet up with a "little old winch" who lures them to her garage. Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Children's Literature
- Ken Marantz
Gordon, with tongue in cheek, shows how the classic story of Hansel and Gretel can be told with sibling trucks as the heroes and the Wicked Winch as villain. Hansel and Diesel, living in a junk yard, are hungry; their mother and dad are running out of gas with a long winter ahead. As they set out to search for fuel, Hansel leaves a trail of bolts behind so they do not get lost. But as night falls, snow covers the trail. A beautiful brightly lit gas station appears ahead where the small trucks drink deeply. An old winch who seems sympathetic invites them into the garage to sleep. But then she shuts them inside and seems ready to shred them. Meanwhile, their worried parents have found the trail of bolts under the melted snow and arrive just in time to save them for the happy ending. All the mechanical characters have distinctive personalities. The very appealing "children" are swinging in tire swings in the junkyard as the story begins, bright eyes shining. The double-pages scenes include the typical tools and materials found in auto shops and junkyards. The magical gas station, spotless with nary a grease stain or bit of candy wrapper, is an Art Deco dream fit to stand with the most delicious-looking Gingerbread House.
School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 2-Gordon's third tricked-up automotive interpretation of a familiar children's tale is Grimm with a gimmick: Hansel and Diesel are sibling pickup trucks (so the text reads, though they're pictured as flatbeds) who wander from their junkyard home in search of fuel (trailing bolts in lieu of bread crumbs) and into the clutches of the Wicked Winch. She lives in "the most beautiful gas station they could have imagined-right in the middle of the junkyard!" When the thirsty little vehicles help themselves to deep glugs of her warm gasoline, the Winch inquires, "Guzzle, guzzle, drip and drool, who is drinking all my fuel?" The little ones are saved from the jaws of her ominous metal shredder by their worried parents, who push the winch to her just reward and admonish their evilly gleeful-looking kids: "Don't you ever leave home and scare us like that again!" The junkyard-as-forest is effectively rendered, with bleak towers of snow-covered tires giving readers an idea of the relative diminutiveness of the duo, and the candy-land confection of a gas station is an able stand-in for the classic house of bread and cakes. Among the missing are the familial tensions that serve as the original story's energy source, and the girl-power rescue that makes quick-thinking Gretel a particular favorite. Fans of Gordon's The Ugly Truckling (2004) and The Three Little Rigs (2005, both HarperCollins)-which put in shameless-self-promotion cameo appearances here-will probably overlook what's lacking, but others may want to stick with something closer to the original.-Kathy Krasniewicz, Perrot Library, Old Greenwich, CT Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.
Kirkus Reviews
Gordon follows The Three Little Rigs (2005) and The Ugly Truckling (2004) with his third fractured fairy tale. Hansel and Diesel are young trucks that live in a junkyard, but their family is low on fuel. Brother and sister venture out to look for gas. Afraid of getting lost, Hansel drops a shiny bolt every few feet as they search through the craggy junkyard. One haunting image is a view from above as the pickups pass by massive stacks of tires painted gray, black and white amid swirling snowflakes that cover the bolts. Suddenly the night is illuminated by a gorgeous service station with strung lights and candy-striped pumps. "The Wicked Winch" lures them in with the promise of oil and rest, but soon they are awakened by the screaming of descending saw blades meant to shred them. Though this tale has a happy ending, the merciless shredder may give wee ones a fright. The illustrations swing from bright to dark and the brushstrokes are meticulous. Imbued with industrial surrealism, this story, though harrowing, applauds the ingenuity of youngsters and the embrace of a loving family. (Picture book. 5-7)
