steve goetz | Raincity Librarian

Old MacDonald Had a Truck

If I was still doing preschool / family story times, this reworked version of Old MacDonald Had a Farm would definitely be added to my picture book rotation. Instead of farm animals, Old MacDonald and his power tool-toting lady have a farm filled with heavy duty machinery. That’s right, we’ve got bulldozers and steamrollers, front loaders and dump trucks, and much, much more. Turns out the MacDonalds are building a brand new monster truck rally track on their property, and all the farm animals are getting in on the fun.

As a children’s librarian I like to think I know a thing or two about children’s literature, but I am no snob, and I’ll happily embrace just about anything that helps support literacy development and gets kids excited about reading. A lot of kids are going to go out of their minds with excitement when they see this picture book, and that is recommendation enough for me.

Eda Kaban’s adorable illustrations absolutely seal the deal – each spread is a riot of colour and detail, with a delightful array of sweet farm animals participating in the building project (wearing appropriate safety equipment of course – safety first, kids).

I really appreciate that Mrs. MacDonald takes a strong role in the illustrations, getting directly involved in a number of traditionally male activities like fixing an engine and detailing a car’s exterior. You go, girl!

Is Old MacDonald Had a Truck silly? Absolutely. But it’s also a lot of fun, and will likely delight young readers. Highly recommended.

It’s Monday, What Are You Reading? is hosted by Kathryn at The Book Date, and adapted by Kellee at Unleashing Readers and Jen at Teach Mentor Texts with a children’s/YA focus. The Sunday Post is hosted by The Caffeinated Book Reviewer. These weekly roundups are a great way to discover new blogs and bloggers, share recommended (or not so recommended….) titles, and add to your ever-growing to-read list.

The Martian

I really wanted to love this book. The film adaptation starring Matt Damon was fantastic and I love science fiction, so I came into the novel with high hopes.

Don’t get me wrong, I love technobabble as much as the next person. Just look at my obsession with Michael Crichton novels. Being hit over the head with facts and figures doesn’t phase me, which is a good thing, because wow does this book ever delight in its technobabble.

What makes a highly technical yet highly enjoyable Michael Crichton novel like Sphere or Jurassic Park (don’t be fooled by the film adaptation – the original novel is not for those with a fear of coding languages) work is that the facts and figures are usually delivered by characters who serve a function beyond just being the deliverers of facts and figures. The characters in The Martian are barely characters at all – they don’t really display any discernible personalities, experience no growth or development, and just aren’t particularly interesting.

Our hero, Mark Watney, doesn’t really feel like a real person – he’s just so gosh-darn positive, experiencing only the briefest and most transient moments of negativity or doubt. The man experiences complete isolation for weeks and faces near-constant death – I don’t care how positive you are or how well you scored on your NASA psychological testing, that’s going to put at least a bit of a damper on your spirits. Watney is just too perfect for me – always chipper, always positive, always cheeky, and always brilliant – too damn brilliant. Every “oh shit, I’m going to die!” moment is almost immediately followed by a “never mind, it’s all good” moment. There’s never really any reason to worry about Watney’s fate because we very quickly realize that no matter what challenges he faces, his super brilliance and super cheerfulness will quickly find a solution and save the day. The character serves as a vehicle for the author to display his in-depth knowledge of all things science and technology, which is interesting for a while, but eventually loses its lustre.

In conclusion, this was one of those rare instances in which I actually preferred the film adaptation over the source material (gasp!).

Don’t Push the Button

I am experiencing a bit of a love-hate relationship with this book at the moment. I love it because it’s simple, silly and interactive, and works brilliantly as a read-aloud at school visits. I hate it because I read it aloud eight times in the past week, and I’ve since developed an unnatural hatred for Larry the naughty monster. The story is a lot of fun, though, and it provides a perfect opportunity to really ham things up as a reader, if you’re anything like me.

The Bus Ride