REVIEW: Happy Old Stuff Day!

Yup. It’s a day to celebrate old stuff. I’ve got plenty of that. Don’t we all? I do my share of de-cluttering, but there are a few things that are harder to part with. Those things I hold dear, even if someone else might not feel the same way. Today’s book review celebrates something old that has value to a hard-working farming family. And it’s brilliantly done: 

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​TITLE: The Old Truck

AUTHOR/ILLUSTRATORS: Jarrett & Jerome Pumphrey

PUBLISHER: Norton Young Readers/2020

OPENING LINES: 

On a small farm, an old truck worked hard.
The old truck worked long.
The old truck grew weary and tired.
So the old truck rested 
And dreamed.

​One might not first think the idea of making an old truck the main character of a picture book is a good one, but they would be wrong (in my humble opinion). Because they haven’t read THE OLD TRUCK. To thoroughly enjoy this book, take it all in--the jacket, the cover, the illustrations leading to the title page, the details on every page (watch how the truck, the little girl, and the farm around her change as time passes), the words. Oh, my--the words! Just the right words to tell this circular story of an old truck that works hard until it grows tired, and then rests. All the while a little girl dreams of adventures with the truck, and then grows up to be a farmer herself, and (spoiler alert) dreams and persists and restores the old truck. I remember having my own adventures in my grandfather’s antique cars, whether or not they were working hard or resting. I also grew up in a family of “tinkerers” (blacksmiths, mechanics, farmers, all-around-fixer-uppers) who worked hard to restore and old cars, farm equipment, and other items that people now seem to easily discard and replace with the newest thing. THE OLD TRUCK was a refreshing, sweet, read with equally sweet illustrations. 
 
Read this review on Goodreads or Amazon.