Bulldozer's Big Day (Bulldozer Books)

PreS-Gr 1--Fleming and Rohmann team up for their second picture book in celebration of Bulldozer's birthday. He zooms across the construction site in joyous anticipation of his big day only to discover that every construction truck he greets is too busy to acknowledge anything more than the jobs that need to be done. As surely as the scooping, sifting, and stirring prevails, Bulldozer's blade droops lower and lower as the day passes without recognition. When the construction whistle signals the end of the work day with a big "Wooot!" all hope is lost until a "Feeef!" and a "Toot! Tweet! Ah-wooo!" signal the start of a surprise birthday party. Rohmann's signature relief (block) prints are a perfect complement to Fleming's earnest tale. The bold black lines of the machines and construction site are balanced by the black framed pages and offset by the trucks' primary colors and variable backgrounds in blues and white. Chunky details, especially the trucks' eyes and the rubble they're tending, make the story come alive. The heavyweight matte paper and relief lettering on the dust jacket add satisfying tactile details to the engaging text and playful illustrations. VERDICT This masterfully crafted story will become a favorite read-aloud choice.--Lynn Van Auken, Oak Bluffs School, Oak Bluffs, MA

The team behind Oh, No! (2012) imagines a construction-site birthday celebration that ends with a multi-story surprise. Wide-eyed Bulldozer bumps and bounces over the site, eager for the bigger, older machines to share in his birthday excitement. "Guess what today is!" Bulldozer asks Digger. But to them, it's just another day: "Today is a scooping day," Digger replies. "And a sifting day," adds Dump Truck. "Sifting... sifting... sifting." Using relief printing, Rohmann surrounds bright, gauzy fields of color with warm black lines, giving each truck faithful detailing and winning expressiveness. With each disappointing interaction, Bulldozer's blade droops ever lower, but at the end of the day whistles blow ("Feeef!" "Toot!"), and Crane lifts an enormous birthday cake from the construction site pit, complete with glowing candles. Now readers can go back over the pages and see how Bulldozer's birthday surprise was made (Digger was moving sprinkles, and Crane was lifting candles). The power of giant construction equipment makes a fine vehicle (ahem) to convey the outsize excitement of a special day. Ages 4-7. Agent: Ethan Ellenberg, Ethan Ellenberg Literary Agency. (May)