These two rowdy books feature a cast of busy trucks getting ready for a party for bully Big Rig (Zoom!) and traveling to Pete's party by following confusing, sometimes contradictory road signs (Pete's). The books are lots of fun, but their story lines can be as difficult to follow as the signs to Pete's shindig. [Review includes these Jon Scieszka's Trucktown titles: Pete's Party and Zoom! Boom! Bully.] (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

PreS-Gr 1-These titles will draw beginning readers into the zany world of anthropomorphic trucks, whose distinct personalities and endearing facial expressions roll across the colorful pages. In Party, Jack and Gabby deal with swerves, curves, and potholes in the road as they follow a dizzying array of directional signs on their way to a friend's celebration. It's a fine companion to Jennifer Armstrong's Once Upon a Banana (S & S, 2006) to reinforce the concept of reading signs. In Bully, trucks watch with dismay as Big Rig wreaks havoc with the barrels, crates, and tires that are intended as a birthday cake with cement frosting. Delighted to discover the cake is meant for him, Big Rig still can't resist the urge to ram into the construction with a final rousing "ZOOM! BOOM!" Though the book is designed for independent reading, the sound effects make it an excellent read-aloud.-Gloria Koster, West School, New Canaan, CT (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

This weak title, one in an early-reader series that's part of Scieszka's Trucktown brand, purports to provide active children with a similarly rambunctious easy-to-read package. Scieszka's author's note for the series boasts, "Everything about Trucktown has been built to excite and motivate young readers...This is...a world where kids are inspired to become readers by action stories, and helped to become readers with amazing illustrations and selected vocabulary." The result falls far short of such claims. Two trucks, Jack and Gabriella, follow a succession of legit and spoof road signs to a party at bulldozer Pete's garage. Three illustrators, including David Shannon and Loren Long as well as Gordon, collaborated to create Trucktown's unremarkable, stereotypical visuals. Jack is a sturdy red-and-blue flatbed, while Gabriella's a pink garbage truck with a flowery monogrammed and a yellow "bow." Typical visual personification for the vehicles--headlights are eyes; grilles are mouths--and muddy digital execution add little that's fresh. Also out in June: Zoom! Boom! Bully (ISBN: 978-1-4169-4139-2; PLB: 978-1-4169-4150-7). For emergent readers, more hype than help. (Early reader. 4-6) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.