Construction Site on Christmas Night (Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site)

Christmas has arrived at the construction site, and the trucks are finishing up their hard work building a special house. As night comes and snow falls, each truck receives a special gift. Writing in upbeat couplets, Rinker describes each truck's duties. "Cement Mixer has concrete to pour: / he lays the foundation, walls, and floor." By introducing the trucks individually, Rinker allows the excitement of each finding their gifts to resonate every time. Finally, their work is done, and fire trucks roll into "a new home, built just right." Ford's oil crayon renderings of the trucks are gently expressive. Truck lovers will gladly welcome the friendly rigs for Christmas. Ages 3-5. (Oct.)

PreS-Gr 1--Rinker is back with her construction vehicles prepping for the holidays. The rhyming text follows how the machines work hard to construct a "special house" that must be ready for Christmas Eve. Each machine is allotted three or four pages to describe their work, before being given a gift (Bulldozer gets a new carbon steel blade), and then bidden Merry Christmas and Goodnight. Once Crane finishes the job by topping the construction with a star, new fire trucks and rescue vehicles roll in, and readers realize what has been built: a new fire station. As usual, these happy trucks are anthropomorphized just enough to appeal to kids. The neocolor wax oil crayon illustrations offer bright colors and scenes that are engaging without being overwhelming, ending with peaceful, snowy scenes. Although this is a bit lengthy for toddler audiences, children will love shouting out the names of the vehicles and the parts they are gifted, as well as guessing what they're creating. VERDICT Rinker's popularity makes this holiday title a first purchase for all public libraries. It's perfect for one-on-one and small group sharing.--Liz Anderson, DC Public Library