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40 pp.
| HarperCollins/B+B
| October, 2018
|
TradeISBN 978-0-06-244925-2$17.99
(2)
PS
Illustrated by
Jim McMullan.
This entry in the McMullans' peppy vehicle-centric series (most recently I'm Smart!) stars a plucky red pickup truck hauling lumber, gravel, and hay bales around the countryside, all while commenting on truck parts, terminology, and capabilities. There's a passing lesson in stick-to-itiveness, but mostly it's just vehicle-loving fun, with sound effects and interjections, bold-hued illustrations, and a bright-eyed truck with an outsize smile on its front bumper.
Reviewer: Elissa Gershowitz
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
November, 2018
(2)
PS
Illustrated by
Jim McMullan.
The McMullans' latest tough-things-that-go book stars the school bus. While the braggart bus calls attention to its intelligence, the book focuses equally on its role as protector and caretaker; the bus explains laws and safety features unique to school buses. Watercolor illustrations use loose lines and shapes for the bus and other vehicles, making them seem as human as the passengers, who are thoughtfully differentiated.
Reviewer: Julie Roach
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
July, 2017
(2)
PS
Illustrated by
Jim McMullan.
An "ice-shaving, snow-eating" Zamboni smoothes out the rink during a hockey game's intermission. But this machine works slowly--can the Zamboni finish the task in time? Jim McMullan demystifies this process in a sequence of cutaway shots. Text color and style vary by spread (and Zamboni's mood). Fans of I Stink! and I'm Big! (and more) will enjoy the machine's bravado.
Reviewer: Sam Bloom
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
September, 2015
(2)
PS
Illustrated by
Jim McMullan.
Challenged to a race from Sacramento to Chicago by a red sports car, a train engine is ready for action--just as soon as the freight is loaded. Kate McMullan's peppy staccato text is embellished with onomatopoeia ("chooka chooka chooka"). Jim McMullan makes terrific use of broad horizontal spreads to show the beauty and challenge of the journey.
32 pp.
| Little
| June, 2012
|
TradeISBN 978-0-316-93842-6$16.99
(4)
K-3
Illustrated by
Jim McMullan.
Puzzled that his horses are napping on the job, Farmer spies on them one night and discovers that they spend their evenings partying. Not only do his scolds do no good, but his ongoing spying leads to the book's unsurprising punch line: now Farmer is falling asleep on the job, too. Both rhymes and watercolors are just funny enough.
40 pp.
| Little
| June, 2011
|
TradeISBN 978-0-316-98840-7$16.99
(3)
K-3
Illustrated by
Jim McMullan.
A farmer decides to "spring-clean" his animals. He successfully washes the horses, ducks, and cows, but meets resistance at the pigpen. Voicing their sentiment on mud-written signs, the pigs, shown in McMullan's sassy watercolor illustrations, defy the farmer's attempts at bathing. Through the use of rhyme and clever pig-centric puns, Wilson creates an amusing standoff between farmer and hogs.
(2)
PS
Illustrated by
Jim McMullan.
An outsized Sauropod looking for his herd runs into some seriously scary dudes--predators with "FANGS! CLAWS! SPIKES!" Accompanied by spirited cartoon illustrations, slangy, colloquial first-person narration walks readers through our large friend's self-defense tactics. Readers will be happy to see what works for this gentle giant, from whom the fanged, clawed, spiked, yet puny bullies turn tail.
40 pp.
| HarperCollins/Cotler
| May, 2008
|
TradeISBN 978-0-06-122971-8$16.99
|
LibraryISBN 978-0-06-122972-5$17.89
(2)
PS
Illustrated by
Jim McMullan.
"Are you BAD? I'm REALLY bad," this T. Rex boasts about his fearsome attributes. The orange, green, and purple swirling sky evokes a volcanic atmosphere against which the commanding cartoon beast appears to live up to his reputation--until he repeatedly fails to catch his prey. Though played for laughs, the story conveys real information about dinosaurs and the Cretaceous Era.
(2)
PS
Illustrated by
Jim McMullan.
This backhoe loader may not have the brawn or bite of the garbage truck in I Stink!, but he determinedly sinks his jagged yellow teeth into the job of cleaning up a trash-filled lot. The art's heavy black outlines and robust palette befit a character who isn't shy about announcing his presence: "Hope ya like Noise. CLANK! Rattle! BANG! Bing! BANG! BONG! BONG! Clunk!"
(2)
PS
Illustrated by
Jim McMullan.
This companion to I Stink! makes fine use of its predecessor's formula to introduce a scrappy, hard-working tugboat with attitude. Once again, the motorized protagonist talks directly to readers, with text that flows loosely across the page and fluctuates in size. In the robust, blocky illustrations, our boy sports a near-perpetual eager grin and a youthful red baseball cap (perhaps a nod to an obvious ancestor, Little Toot).
40 pp.
| HarperCollins/Cotler
| April, 2002
|
TradeISBN 0-06-029848-0$$15.95
|
LibraryISBN 0-06-029849-9$$15.89
(1)
PS
Illustrated by
Jim McMullan.
The garbage truck who narrates this down-and-dirty picture book is not a demure figure. His job description, which he outlines with healthy machismo, requires him to roar through the streets at night, doing work most people find repugnant. But without him? "You're on Mount Trash-o-rama, baby." The artist's heavily outlined depiction of the hulking beast on his nightly rounds amplifies the text's brash tone.
32 pp.
| Farrar
| April, 2000
|
TradeISBN 0-374-35732-3$$15.00
(2)
PS
Illustrated by
Jim McMullan.
Granny Bear, Grandpa Bear, and Mama Bear each take a turn at singing Baby to sleep, but only Papa Bear knows the "right song"; he takes Baby out on the river where the soothing river sounds quickly put Baby Bear to sleep. The watercolors are likewise soothing, depicting a cradle-like boat on the blue moonlit river and a cozy bear home, aglow with candlelight and love.
Reviewer: Lauren Adams
| Horn Book Magazine Issue:
March, 2000
32 pp.
| Scholastic
| March, 1999
|
TradeISBN 0-590-35010-2$$15.95
(4)
PS
Illustrated by
Jim McMullan.
A simple text follows a boy enjoying the wonders of nature: "The sun is good. / The earth is good. / The trees and birds and bees are good." The watercolors in brown, green, and blue tones add some movement to the actionless text by showing the boy running, leaping, and climbing. The boy is sometimes awkwardly proportioned, but the environment and animals are more successfully portrayed.