Sidewalks are being poured, streetlights repaired, roads resurfaced. The noise of jackhammers, whistles, and horns fills the air. Boys and girls alike will love seeing the big machines at work. Anastasia Suen's simple text and Jannie Ho's bright, up-beat pictures make this one road trip to remember.

    With the help of their trusty trucks, they clean the streets of sticks and leaves in the spring; patch potholes in preparation for summer traffic; pick up the leaves in the fall; and spray the roads with sand and salt during winter. Young truck enthusiasts will love watching the garage workers operate their terrific trucks and keep the roads in top shape through every season! The Village Garage is a 2011 Bank Street - Best Children's Book of the Year.

    Load the dirt. Scoop and swing and drop. Slam it down into the truck. Bump! Whump! Whop!"There are many big machines and busy people involved in building a road, and this riveting picture book follows them every step of the way. From clearing a pathway (SCREEK!) to rolling the tar (SQUELCH!) to sweeping up at the end (SWISH!), ROADWORK is sure to draw young onlookers with its rambunctious rhymes and noisy fun.

    The excavator goes, "chumma chumma hufft hufft FALUMP." The steamroller goes, "CHUG chug CHUG chug moooooosh." The wrecking ball goes, "BOOOOOM!" Come on down to the construction site and make some noise with eight exciting construction vehicles as they rumble, crunch, chug, and boom their way through this lively book! The oversized format lends itself to the shape of the vehicles and the boisterous text begs to be read aloud.

     Baby’s driving down the road. Look, a truck! Baby’s flying in the air. Wow, there’s a plane! Baby’s sailing on the sea—along with a ship, a sailboat, and a submarine!   Indestructibles is the trusted series for easing little ones into story time. Beloved by babies and their parents, Indestructibles are built for the way babies “read” (i.e., with their hands and mouths) and are:Rip Proof—made of ultra-durable tight-woven materialWaterproof—can be chewed on, drooled on, and washed!Emergent Literacy Tool—bright pictures and few or no words encourage dialogic readingPortable—lightweight books can go anywhere, perfect for the diaper bag and for travelSafe for Baby—meets ASTM safety standards

    They rescue:Gorillas in chef hats! Whales in trees! Dinosaurs on bicycles!But when the emergencies requiring their attention become a little overwhelming, the Firefighter Duckies realize that they don’t have to be brave and strong to be helpful and kind.

    . . and it's not over yet. Just as he's preparing for a good night's sleep, the fire bell rings yet again.

      Bulldozers and back-hoes, pavers and plows, trailers and tractors--the world is filled with so many types of trucks! Imagine the fun you could have if you could drive them all! And what if you could bring your best friends along with you? Hop along for a thrilling ride! This playful romp is sure to delight truck lovers everywhere!

    That’s the inspiring message of this lively, collectible picture book biography series from New York Times bestselling author Brad Meltzer.�Kids always search for heroes, so we might as well have a say in it,” Brad Meltzer realized, and so he envisioned this friendly, fun approach to biography �for his own kids, and for yours. Each book tells the story of one of America’s icons in an entertaining, conversational way that works well for the youngest nonfiction readers, those who aren’t quite ready for the Who Was series. Each book focuses on a particular character trait that made that role model heroic. For example, Amelia Earhart refused to accept no for an answer; she dared to do what no one had ever done before, and became the first woman to fly a plane all the way across the Atlantic Ocean. This book follows her from childhood to her first flying lessons and onward to her multi-record-breaking career as a pilot.   This engaging series is the perfect way to bring American history to life for young children, and to inspire them to strive and dream.

    He lifts up his blade, his spotlights flash on, he rolls through the gate, and lets out a yawn. He heads to the Wiggle and Shake for a bath, then to the Sip and Slurp for some supper, then chooses a bedtime story . . . and soon the bulldozer will be dreaming sweet dreams of finishing his important work! Construction vehicle fans young and old will delight in this imaginative book of how a bulldozer prepares for bed. Sharon Chriscoe's irresistibly clever and gentle rhyming verse and John Joven's charming illustrations are sure to soothe even the busiest of kids at bedtime.

    . . . I remember there was one tree, however, that the three of you couldn't stop staring at. . . . After the family spares him from the builders, Steve the tree quickly works his way into their lives. He holds their underwear when the dryer breaks down, he's there when Adam and Lindsay get their first crushes, and he's the centerpiece at their outdoor family parties. With a surprising lack of anthropomorphizing, this is a uniquely poignant celebration of fatherhood, families, love, and change.

    Children who can't get enough of boats will love this nautical nighttime story full of exciting and familiar watercraft. Little vehicle lovers will want to collect all the books by Brianna Caplan Sayres and Christian Slade, including Where Do Steam Trains Sleep at Night?, Where Do Jet Planes Sleep at Night?, and Where Do Diggers Celebrate Christmas?

    You can dig up dirt with a power shovel, lift steel beams with a giant crane, flatten tar with a steamroller, and push away snow with a snowplow. Preschoolers will love watching the little boy and girl in the story as they sit in the driver's seat of twelve great machines that rumble and tumble and go clinka-vroom vroom!

    Every day, he stands behind the fence and watches the big machines--the steamroller, the cement truck, and the tall crane--in action. When Sam enters the construction site on a dare, he discovers he can operate the big machinery! With a surprise ending, Sam saves the day with his construction site know-how. Hidden clues and delicious details make Alice Hoogstad's construction site a feast for the eye.

    Little Green helps them do their jobs with gusto. Until . . . there is a little too much gusto. They can go, go, go . . . but how will they stop?This bright, fun book with a bold package captures the endless energy of little boys and the timeless appeal of trucks and machines--both for building and knocking down. Plus, it has an underlying message about working together to get things done.