Monster Trucks

by Anika Denise, Nate Wragg (Illustrator)

Overview

“Monster-truck fans won’t want to miss this Halloween showdown.” —Kirkus

“Full-throttle Halloween fun.” —Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Readers will delight in this lively read-aloud story with a clever and surprising twist at the end—perfect for Halloween and year-round!

Ready, set, go! The monster truck race is on in this frightfully delightful picture book. On a spooky speedway, Monster Trucks moan! Monster Trucks grumble! Monster Trucks groan!

Join Frankentruck, Zombie Truck, Ghost Truck, and more as they race to the finish line. But one of these trucks isn’t quite who you think.

“In the energetic rhyming text…the action never stops.” —The Horn Book

“A quick seasonal storytime selection that is sure to be popular around Halloween. Monstrous fun!” —School Library Journal

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780062345226
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	07/12/2016
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	527,512
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 10.90(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Anika Denise is a children's book author and poet. When not writing tales of vroom and doom, she can be found zipping around her hometown of Barrington, Rhode Island, in her Monster Minivan or reading not-so-scary stories with her husband and three kids.

Nate Wragg is the illustrator of Monster Trucks by Anika Denise, At the Old Haunted House by Helen Ketteman, and many other titles. He’s also a production designer and illustrator for animated films. Nate lives in Southern California with his lovely wife and daughter and their silly French bulldog. 

Editorial Reviews

★ 08/01/2016
It’s a mash-up made in heaven (or maybe hell): ghoulish monsters and larger-than-life vehicles decked out with oversize tires, spikes, and menacing grins. After Denise (Baking Day at Grandma’s) gets introductions out of the way (“Frankentruck is first to arrive./ With a jump of his cables, He’s alive! He’s alive!”), the race is on. The competitors include Vampire Truck, Zombie Truck, and—what’s this?—“a little blue bus looking perky... and cute.” The VW-bus-style newcomer quickly makes short work of the larger, fiercer racers, and a kicker reveals that she’s more than just a pretty fascia. Wragg (Elwood Bigfoot: Friends Wanted!) creates some wicked vehicular hybrids—Ghost Truck fittingly evokes an old Rolls Royce Phantom—and eerie green skies and yellow moonlight set the stage for full-throttle Halloween fun. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Emily van Beek, Folio Literary Management. Illustrator’s agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House. (July)

Publishers Weekly

These monster trucks really are monsters, and their race is sure to get cheering children on the edges of their seats...monster-truck fans won’t want to miss this Halloween showdown.” — Kirkus Reviews

“Wragg creates some wicked vehicular hybrids...and eerie green skies and yellow moonlight set the stage for full-throttle Halloween fun.” — Publishers Weekly (starred review)

“In the energetic rhyming text…the action never stops. Vivid colors and textures give the cartoony acrylic and digital illustrations a bold and lively (despite the undead) look.” — The Horn Book

“Bright, bold illustrations bring characters like Zombie Truck, Frankentruck, and Werewolf Truck to life....with lots of movement in the text and on the pages, this is a quick seasonal storytime selection that is sure to be popular around Halloween. Monstrous fun!” — School Library Journal

From the Publisher

In the energetic rhyming text…the action never stops. Vivid colors and textures give the cartoony acrylic and digital illustrations a bold and lively (despite the undead) look.

The Horn Book

09/01/2016
PreS-Gr 1—On a "Spooky Speedway," a creepy collection of monster trucks assemble to race to the finish line. Bright, bold illustrations bring characters like Zombie Truck, Frankentruck, and Werewolf Truck to life. When a tiny VW-style van shows up to race, the big monster trucks think lunch has arrived. But Little Blue Bus has a spooky secret that will delight audiences as they cheer on the tiny underdog to the win. A good choice for a not too frightening read-aloud. VERDICT With lots of movement in the text and on the pages, this is a quick seasonal storytime selection that is sure to be popular around Halloween. Monstrous fun!—Jasmine L. Precopio, Fox Chapel Area School District, Pittsburgh

School Library Journal

2016-07-20
These monster trucks really are monsters, and their race is sure to get cheering children on the edges of their seats.A spooky speedway surrounded by creepy trees and with gravestones in the center is the setting for this rhyming tale; mummies, ghosts, witches, and skeletons watch from the stands. Five monster trucks enter the race. “Frankentruck is first to arrive. / With a jump of his cables, he’s alive! He’s alive!” Werewolf Truck croons a tune and howls at the moon, Zombie Truck’s headlights glow green and he drips diesel, and Ghost Truck has a wonderfully curvy shape that tapers at the back and a grille shaped like an open, moaning mouth. The last monster truck is Vampire Truck, his purple spoiler shaped like a cape and fangs overhanging his grille. But those aren’t the only contestants: “out of the pit…with a PUTT and a TOOT / comes a Little Blue Bus, / looking perky…and cute.” It’s a VW bus (though her “nose” is an M in a circle rather than a VW). Unsurprisingly, it’s the latecomer who comes out ahead, though Vampire Truck is hot on her trail and ready to drink her fuel. Wragg’s acrylic-and-digital illustrations are sufficiently dark and creepy, filled with greens, purples, and yellows, and the anthropomorphized trucks truly suit their names. Monster-truck fans won’t want to miss this Halloween showdown. (Picture book. 4-8)

Kirkus Reviews