Top 5 Truck Books

We all know that different books serve different purposes and it isn't any different for children's books. Some truck books are like truck porn; they have no story or next to no story but an abundance of pictures. Other truck books are educational and teach the readers about the form and function of a truck or a few trucks. Still others have a lovely story that have at their center the life of a truck.  I have read dozens of truck books with my children and these are my (our) top five picks. (Numbers 5, 4, and 1 have plenty of images of plenty of trucks but their instructional quality and/or story take them safely out of the truck porn category and into the educational category.)



5. Machines at Work by Byron Barton. This is primarily an educational book. The reader learns about the function of each of a handful of trucks do at a construction site. Byron Barton's illustrations are so simple you might want to try writing and illustrating a book of your own. Don't bother...Barton has done it for us. The storyline of this book is simple and the pictures are, too. It is a book that appeals to both my 1.5 year old and my four year old so it made the cut.




4. Dig Dig Digging by Margaret Mayo. This is an educational truck book but each lesson rhymes! Each rhyme in this book stands alone and does not flow into a larger story but that is OK. It has plenty to look at and a lot of fun truck noises with which to "play."

From Amazon:
"A perfect book for little digger-lovers!

Trucks and tractors, fire engines and helicopters -- they all like to work hard. But after a long, happy day of beep-beeping and vroom-vrooming, even the busiest engines need to rest. This bright, bouncy, noise-filled book brings together all the vehicles that children adore."

3. I Want My T R U C K by Karen Beaumont. The main character of this story has lost a beloved truck and spends his energy searching and searching for it. This story resonates with everyone in our house.

From Amazon:
"Catrow's colorfully frenetic artwork and Beaumont's flawlessly rhyming text will have children chanting along... By the end, readers will definitely know how to spell 'truck' [and] they will definitely recognize themselves in Tommy. (New York Times Sunday Book Review)"

2. Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle. Amazon says exactly what I would tell you: "Filled with truck sounds and animals noises, here is a rollicking homage to the power of friendship and the rewards of helping others." In addition to that, I'm a sucker for the images of autumn. I am happy to read this book as much as my children want to hear it.




1. Goodnight Goodnight Construction Site by Sherry Rinker. This book has it all - lots of great images of working trucks, educational information about the form and function of each machine, plus it is a great rhyming bedtime truck story. It must be so comforting to say "goodnight" to all the awesome trucks in this book. Indeed, my kid used to snuggle with his favorite truck, which would rotate between whatever was new and had been working hard all day and an old beloved machine. This book is so loved in our house that we will have to get another copy with a nice fresh binding soon.

From Amazon:
"For all those youngsters who feel coziest with a cement mixer jammed into an armpit and a dump truck wedged at their feet, Goodnight Goodnight Construction site might be the best bedtime book ever. (Hampton Roads)"

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