Construction Books for Construction Season!
Bulldozers, diggers, and dump trucks, oh my!
As inconvenient as it is inescapable, road work is an inevitable warm-weather reality for all Michiganders. As temperatures rise, so too do construction signs and large, weather-worn orange cones, appearing inexplicably in the wee hours of the morning to transform your 30-minute commute into a rage-inducing hour-plus. But you know who could care less? My middle child. Because he loves construction vehicles.
Hey there, a dad here, and welcome to the latest A Dad Reads newsletter! This week, as the road outside our house closes lanes seemingly at random and our closest major highway remains closed for 2 YEARS, I thought it might be healthy to try and channel some of the joy my son feels watching highly specialized heavy machinery mangle our drive times.
I’ll be plowing through some of our favorite construction-centric books that I think anyone’s little nugget(s) would enjoy!
Where’s the Digger?
This might be my favorite lift-a-flap book ever. Why? Because the flaps are made of FELT! No more emotional damage as eager fingers fold the crap out of flaps, or nearly rip them off their hinges!
Author and illustrator Ingela Arrhenius struck gold here with her felt flap series, and “Where’s the Digger?” is a great option for any little kid who enjoys construction vehicles. The flaps are way more tactile and engaging than standard paper flaps, and the bulldozer, mixer, dump truck, and digger are cute as buttons.
It’s a very short read too, which is both a blessing and a bummer. On the one hand, I can finish it before my one-year-old tries to escape. On the other, I just wish there was more. I can wholeheartedly recommend this one for youngsters starting at 6-8 months.
Diggersaurs Explore
“Diggersaurs Explore” by Michael Whaite features a cavalcade of huge dino-inspired construction machines on their way to the beach. Before they can play in the surf and sand, however, they’ll need to smash, flatten, lift, dump, break, and drill their way through any number of roadblocks in their way.
My kids really like this one, and I really enjoy reading it. The illustrations are colorful and full of life, the diggersaurs are cleverly designed to look like specific dinos (triceratops and stegosaurus below us), and every page features a few extra things to look for (human kids, treasures), which my kids always enjoy pointing out.
I like to call these extra little engagement bits side quests, and I’ve got a newsletter planned specifically about books with great ones, but if you’ve got a kid who likes dinosaurs or construction vehicles, or just likes fun, colorful rhyming books, you should absolutely give this a shot. And there’s two more if they can’t get enough!
Thunder Trucks
If you’re a parent, you know thunderstorm scaries are a thing. Our bed definitely gets a little more full during particularly loud, stormy nights. “Thunder Trucks,” by Cheryl Klein and Katy Beebe, and illustrated by Mike Boldt, might be able to help.
I mean it hasn’t helped for my kids, but I think there’s a world where a storm-anxious kid sees these cute and friendly-looking construction vehicles building up a storm and goes to bed a little less worried when it starts to rain.
Klein and Beebe’s rhymes are a blast to read. There’s a distinct cadence that allows for a ton of freedom to play as you read, and I definitely add more pizzazz to my reading of this one compared to other titles.
And Mike Boldt is definitely a hero here, giving us safe, friendly Thunder Trucks that definitely aren’t scary to imagine up in the clouds. All of his illustrations are exciting and dynamic and show off the colorful troop of trucks from a variety of interesting angles. There’s not a lazy page in the book.
I’m not sure if this’ll help your kids with the thunderstorm scaries, but I don’t think it’ll hurt either, and it’s just a great book all around. Give it a read!
Truckery Rhymes
In Truckery Rhymes, Joe Scieszka, of Stinky Cheese Man fame, has given all our favorite nursery rhymes four wheels, faces, and their very own universe. The Truck Town series is on constant rotation over here, but none are so beloved as Truckery Rhymes.
I have to admit, David Shannon, Loren Long, and David Gordon’s original character and environmental design took some getting used to. It’s just a little too messy for my tastes, but my kids love the art, so your mileage may vary. However, the creative crew for this particular book is pretty beefy, with drawings by Juan Pablo Navas and color by Isabel Nadal and Gabriel Lazbal, and they do a great job staying true to the trio’s original vision.
As you’re reading, you might notice that some of Scieszka’s rhymes don’t feel particularly inspired, while others masterfully infuse classic nursery rhymes with Truck Town’s silly, chaotic energy. Couple those with a great illustration, and the result feels truly unique.It’s in those moments that the book really shines.
I might have been negative for bits of this review, but I want to make it clear that my kids adore this book. The illustrations are goofy, some of the rhymes are great, and if your kids like construction trucks, I have no doubt they’ll enjoy Truckery Rhymes.
Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site
This is the perfect going-to-bed book for any kid that’s into heavy machinery, and I’ll die on that mound of dirt. A New York Times bestseller, Sherri Duskey Rinker’s “Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site” has a sweet, sleepy innocence that just feels perfect for bedtime.
Tom Lichtenheld’s illustrations are fabulous and give each vehicle its own special spark. I really like the almost color pencil quality of the art too. Flat illustrations are great, but the texture in Tom’s work just adds a little extra something that you don’t get to see quite as often.
Rinker’s little narrative is great, her rhymes are fun to read, and she gives each of the five vehicles a couple of pages to themselves. She and Tom do a great job balancing their tough and dirty daytime work with their cute and cuddly bedtime routines in a way that feels super wholesome.
If you haven’t read this one yet, do yourself a favor and pick it up. And if you have read this one and your kids enjoyed it, you might be surprised to know there are something like 20 other books in the series. I haven’t read them all, but I have read a good chunk, and they haven’t disappointed yet.
Construction’s Over
And that’s all he wrote, gang! I almost hit the length limit this time around, so we’ll keep it a little shorter next time around. I’m still experimenting with the format and voice, but we’ll get there. In unrelated news, protest the Trump regime this weekend on Saturday for No Kings Day if you can! They only win if we let them. See you next week!
