Pug in a Truck

Children's Literature - Tracy Riddle

Rich with trucker vocabulary, alliteration and analogies, Nancy Coffelt uncovers trucker's lingo in a creative way. Through the eyes of a pug, the reader is given a passenger-seat experience of the voyage of a daily-delivery trucker. The book offers food for thought as it veers away from your standard non-fiction, fact-filled, truck book. Referring to a tow truck and the way it looks as a "dragon wagon," and comparing the fueling needs of the truck to the food needs of a pug make this book fun and easy to understand. It even has a "trucker glossary" in the back. Coupled with child-friendly illustrations and easy recognition words such as "bow wow" that are repeated throughout and bolded, this book is sure to provide an exciting learning experience for any truck fanatic and their parents. A definite "beep, beep" is in order for this book!

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-Pug the dog introduces his human friend and their big red truck, describing how they pick up a load and head off to deliver it. Coffelt tells the simply plotted story through short sentences and bold, bright illustrations. The cartoon-style artwork has a grainy texture, and elements within the pictures are outlined in black. While much of the text is appropriate for beginning readers, the trucking vocabulary is a bit tricky. Meanings of terms and phrases like "hammer down" (go fast), "dragon wagon" (a tow truck), and keeping "the shiny side up and the greasy side down" (driving safely and avoiding accidents) will be lost unless readers use the appended "Trucker Glossary." However, children familiar with the jargon will breeze through the tale.-Lynn K. Vanca, Akron-Summit County Public Library, Richfield, OH Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

Kirkus Reviews

A friendly dog sees the world from the front seat of a tractor-trailer truck. Cute Pug, tongue always out, gets to ride in the semi driven by his friend. Sounds abound: the "Rumble-rumble" of the engine, "badadadada!" of the air brakes and Pug's happy "Bow-wow." They check out the city and its multi-colored buildings, and see a lot of different vehicles when they hit the open road. Pug even gets to talk on the CB radio. When it gets dark, "the headlights look like stars on the highway." Pug eats outside while his friend fuels up in the truck-stop diner. They sleep at opposite ends of a comfy bed covered with a purple-and-green checked quilt, in preparation for another day on the road. With adult help, many young readers can successfully tackle Coffelt's kid-friendly narrative. Her bright pictures, in oil pastels, offer attractive simple shapes and text spotlighted in color. A glossary wraps it up perfectly. (Picture book. 2-5)