Little Taco Truck

PreS-Gr 2--Little Taco Truck is parked in the perfect spot under a shady tree and close to the workers who are constructing new buildings in a large city. His troubles begin one morning when he arrives as usual only to find that big, beautiful blue Miss Falafel has usurped his perfect parking place. Each day, when Little Taco Truck shows up, he discovers more food trucks parked on the street and has difficulty finding a place for himself. He eventually comes up with a plan to take back his original location. The other vehicles soon realize how thoughtless they have been in not making room for him. Digital illustrations feature trucks in bright, bold red, yellow, and pink serving a variety of foods such as gumbo, tapas, arepas, and gelato. Kindness and consideration for others, as well as learning to stand up for oneself, are the themes of this title. VERDICT This hip and fun read-aloud will appeal to children who are fully cognizant of the importance of playing fair.--Maryann H. Owen, Oak Creek Public Library WI

Little Taco Truck has a happy life: he's got a great location and plenty of satisfied customers. Then other food trucks--serving falafel, tapas, gumbo, arepas, and gelato (all defined in a glossary)--move in and crowd him out. While the other trucks' opportunism seems far more thoughtless than malicious, Little Taco Truck's tentativeness and self-pity exacerbate the ordeal (What if his customers like the other food more? What if he disappears from view?). But tearful misery soon gives way to determination: he stakes out a space at dawn, and when the others show up, Valentine (All Bears Need Love) writes, "Little Taco Truck blinked his lights, puffed up his tires and said, 'This is my spot!' " Chastened and eager to cooperate ("We can all fit if we squeeze," volunteers the arepas truck), the group even finds room when Oodles of Noodles shows up. A familiar story about standing up for oneself gets a tasty twist courtesy of the urban culinary zeitgeist and plenty of visual pop from digital illustrations by Martin (I'm Hungry), who arrays the blocky, brightly colored characters along a single, streetlike plane. Ages 3-7. Author's agent: Linda Epstein, Emerald City Literary Agency. Illustrator's agent: Anne Moore Armstrong, Bright USA. (Apr.)