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Lunch » Tags » Books » Reviews » Colonel Trash Truck: Keeping the Planet Clean and Green » User review

A LITTLE BOOK WITH A VERY IMPORTANT MESSAGE!

  • Oct 10, 2009
  • by
Rating:
+5
What a nice little book this is to teach children the importance of keeping our environment, town and home clean. In an era where we seem to be drowning in trash and plastic garbage, this message is becoming more and more important and we simply cannot begin the process of teaching our children and grandchildren this concept soon enough.

The story centers around an army of trash trucks, led by Colonel Trash Truck, whose duty is to keep our streets and environment clean. The ever vigilant army does not miss a beat in their never ending war against litter and mess. They are here to make a better world for us.

The author has used trash trucks; making them the central characters in the war on trash. I thought it was a very nice thing to give the lowly trash truck its place in the spotlight for a change. The book is filled with clear illustrations which are quite eye catching and plenty of buzz words; the kind of words children of the age this book is targeted for, simply love...loogies, boogies and other gross little comments are certain to bring out giggles. The expression on the faces of the characters; both human and nonhuman are great and tell as much about the happenings in the story as the text.

There are a couple of aspects of this work that need addressed. First is the verse from the author has chosen. As several other reviewers have pointed out, Ms. Crawley has used a six line format with lines 1 and two rhyming and three and six along with four and five. This format or style is deceptively sophisticated for a book targeted for this age group and unless you are familiar with it, the reader should probably read it to themselves a couple of times before the present it to a group. It can be quite effective in certain situations (I use it myself with some of my work), but it can be difficult to read without practice.

The problem, if problem it is, of being gender slanted has been brought up. Perhaps it is as all the main characters are indeed male. I personally do not feel there is anything wrong with this on two different levels. First, if indeed it is leaning toward the male taste, there is really nothing wrong in that. Many good works are now being completely spoiled in our frantic effort to make everything gender general rather than gender specific. I must say though that I have not noted a problem in this area with kids. The era where little girls are not suppose to know anything of mechanics is long gone. These days little girls can identify with heavy machinery, cars, trucks and the like just as well as boys. I personally do not see a weakness in this work in that area.

The art work in this one is nice and crisp and pleasing to the eye...it is well executed. The colors work well and pop from the page in a mellow sort of way.

I am giving this one five stars simply because of the strong and important message the book sends and due to the fact that each page gives the adult reader a golden opportunity to expound and expand on the message with the child.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

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More Colonel Trash Truck: Keeping t... reviews
review by . October 14, 2009
Kathleen Crawley spins a humorous and educational tale about litter and recycling in "Colonel Trash Truck." This rhyming story focuses on Colonel Trash Truck, who sweeps through the neighborhood picking up trash and defending the planet against litterbugs.    The rhythm of the story keeps a steady pace with just a few stumbling blocks. The Colonel teaches children how to separate recyclables and how to throw away all sorts of trash.    The illustrations are …
review by . October 05, 2009
Crawley, Kathleen. "Colonel Trash Truck", (illustrated by Manuel Conde), Big Tent Books, 2009.    Winning the Garbage War    Amos Lassen      We live in an age where the importance of taking care of our trash is paramount. Colonel Trash Truck is out to win the garbage war. To him the world is a wonderful gift and it will only stay wonderful if we learn to appreciate it and protect it. We need to learn to recycle and it is his …
review by . October 05, 2009
The writing in 'Colonel Trash Truck' has a nice rhyming flow and this is a nice children's book. While writing is the #1 most important thing, I feel that illustrations in kids' books run a close 2nd, more like a 1a and 1b, with the artwork being the 1b. In this book, I feel like I am looking at pictures from a 1980s story that uninteresting and dated. They aren't bad, but if the artist was a lot more creative and went with something more unique, it would have made for a much better product. Having …
review by . September 30, 2009
Colonel Trash Truck is cleaning up the planet and recruiting kids into his clean and green army!    This is a rhyming book that stars a talking trash truck. He picks up the trash and along the way tells children how important it is to be clean, not just about litter and garbage, but also with their homes and bedrooms. He lets them know about the importance of recycling and how it helps to preserve our planet. This is all done with colorful pictures and rhymes that are sometimes …
review by . September 29, 2009
If ever we are to correct the direction of salvaging the Green Planet, best to start with children. Kathleen Crawley wears a number of hats - sociologist, advertising executive, environmentalist - and now she reveals another aspect of her involvment with children and with her conviction of the importance of teaching pertinent values to the young reader. She has successfully entered the field of children's literature with a snappy little book featureing a character (with the excellent illustrative …
see all Colonel Trash Truck: Keeping t... reviews (6)
About the reviewer
Don Blankenship ()
Ranked #253
Retirement does not suit me and I now substitute teach in our local schools system. I spent twenty years in the military, twenty years in health care as a consultant and have taught in various colleges … more
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About this book

Wiki

Colonel Trash Truck is a likable, fun-loving hero who is extremely focused on his mission to win the garbage war. He sees the natural world as a beautiful gift that we all need to appreciate and protect. Colonel Trash Truck believes that cleaning up trash and recycling is something that we all must do, and he wants nothing more than to have kids join him in his quest. Read along to find out how he convinces kids to help clean up our world!
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Tags

Books, Childrens Books, Green Living, Recycling, Childrens Nonfiction, Environmentalism
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Details

ISBN-10: 1601310331
ISBN-13: 978-1601310330
Author: Kathleen Crawley
Genre: Childrens Books
Publisher: Big Tent Books
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