"This is the Duck driving home in a truck./ This is the track which is taking him back." So begins this deliciously percussive rhyming story of a feathered truck driver who becomes mired in muck and the three animal Good Samaritans (a frog, a sheep and a goat) who try to help him. As Alborough's (It's the Bear; My Friend Bear) words roll out in an infectious, hard-hitting beat with more than a few rhythmic surprises, he metes out his bold pictures in perfect accompaniment. A triptych of vignettes creates a slow-motion effect as the truck first strikes a rock, is then shown aloft, and finally hits the muck; close-up spreads focus on the exasperated characters attempting to budge the vehicle. With light-hearted tension, wry characterizations and lots of squishy mud, this tale makes for a quacking good read-aloud. Ages 3-6. (Feb.)

Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

The mud may be sticky in this piece of rhymed tomfoolery from Alborough (Can You Jump Like a Kangaroo?, 1996, etc.), but the wordplay is clear and washed. Duck is motoring along a rutted country road in his old clunker truck. The truck hits a stone, bounces once, and lands in the glop. Duck hops off``These are the feet that jump the Duck down/into the muck all yucky and brown''and finds his vehicle stuck fast. Through illustrations that are so welcoming readers will want to crawl right into the artwork, Alborough then introduces Frog and Sheep and Goat, who yeomanly lend a hand. As Duck's wheels at last gain traction and he tools off into the sunset, he literally does his helpmates dirty: ``This is the Duck driving home in the truck/leaving the Frog, the Sheep, and the GoatStuck in the muck!'' A tale that is sweet, funny, and messythree attributes with which any child can identifycombines with sprightly verse and inviting illustrations to make Alborough's latest a thorough success. (Picture book. 3-6) -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Reviews for Duck in the Truck include: 'Rhyme, illustration, wit and inventiveness combine to produce outstanding quality.' TES Primary 'With light-hearted tension, wry characterisations and lots of squishy mud, this tale makes for a quacking good read-aloud.' Publishers Weekly, US 'Alborough's text is perfect for reading out loud and the mix of close-up and panoramic illustrations give an animated, live-action feel.' Junior 'Colourful, arresting and bursting with action.' Child Education --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.