SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: Eat Pete!
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: www.michaelrex.com
CITY: Brooklyn
STATE: NY
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY:
LAST VOLUME: SATA 260
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Born in NJ: married; wife’s name Teresa; children: Declan, Gavin.
EDUCATION:School of Visual Arts, B.F.A., 1990; Queens College, M.Ed., 2010.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Author, illustrator, and educator. Worked as a commercial artist; freelance illustrator, 1995—. Art teacher at Lehman High School, New York, NY, 2006-09; presenter at schools.
AWARDS:Children’s Choices listee, International Reading Association/Children’s Book Council (IRA/CBC), 2009, for Goodnight Goon; IRA/CBC Children’s Choices listee, 2011, for Furious George Goes Bananas; Best Children’s Books of the Year listee, Bank Street College of Education, 2013, for Fangbone! Third Grade Barbarian; Bridge to Reading Picture Book Award nomination, Iowa Library Association, 2019, for Eat Pete!
WRITINGS
Author of a blog.
The “Fangbone” series has been adapted as an animated television series.
SIDELIGHTS
A former New York City art teacher, Michael Rex is the author and illustrator of numerous books for young readers, among them titles in the “Fangbone! Third-grade Barbarian” graphic-novel series. Rex has also collaborated with such writers as David Getz and David Friend, providing vivid and colorful artwork to their books. “I like the idea of creating something, either a drawing or a story, that was not there at the start of the day,” he remarked in an interview on the Brightly blog.
Rex took an early interest in the creative arts. “I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t drawing and making things,” he stated in his Brightly conversation. “It always felt very natural and ‘right.’ School never really clicked for me, and I wasn’t an athlete. So the arts were the only place I felt capable on any level. My parents were very supportive and never discouraged me from following that path.”
Rex further noted that his mother and father played a critical role in his decision to pursue a career in illustration. “One of the most important elements of my parents’ support was that my mom always cut out articles from magazines and newspapers about anyone who made their living drawing comics or illustrating. She knew that it was a ‘real job’ and made sure that I knew it too. It was never looked at a hobby or a diversion. The idea that I could do what I loved to do as a career when I grew up excited me.”
A graduate of the School of Visual Arts in New York City, Rex began illustrating picture books for children in 1995. Writing in Booklist, Lauren Peterson appraised Rex’s efforts on his picture-book debut, illustrating Getz’s Floating Home, and noted that his “colorful cartoon illustrations enhance the humorous aspects of the story.” In the same periodical, Ellen Mandel described his illustrations for Helena Clare Pittman’s Sunrise as “colorful, simple, humorous, and effective.”
Working with London, Rex illustrated Wiggle Waggle, a book that encourages readers to move along with the text; Snuggle Wuggle, a bedtime story; and Crunch Munch, a book about the noises animals make when they eat. His colored-pencil images in Wiggle Waggle are “just the right size for a group to focus on,” according to Booklist critic Ilene Cooper, while colleague Carolyn Pheland noted of Snuggle Wuggle that Rex’s “large-scale, shaded pencil drawings … create strong, clear images of animals and their young.”
David Friend pays tribute to backhoes, bulldozers, eighteen-wheelers, farm combines, and other hard-working vehicles in the picture book With Any Luck, I’ll Drive a Truck, featuring artwork by Rex. According to a reviewer in Publishers Weekly, Rex’s “digitally colored ink cartoons are full of vehicular action and mechanical details,” and a writer in Kirkus Reviews similarly noted that the illustrator’s “cartoonish style renders each vehicle with a meticulousness that will meet the approval of even the strictest vehicle enthusiast.”
Along with the books he has illustrated for other writers, Rex has published several original self-illustrated picture books. In The Painting Gorilla he tells the story of a gorilla who becomes rich and famous from her paintings at the zoo. Her zoo friends give her advice on how to spend her money, and her decision creates what Susan Dove Lempke called a “satisfying conclusion to this simple story” in her Booklist review. Rex has also created two series of concept books, one focusing on workers and the other focusing on vehicles. Who Builds? examines the people who construct skyscrapers and satellites, while Who Digs? introduces miners and paleontologists. Both have “lift-the-flap” designs that allow young readers to explore the content.
Turning to vehicles, My Fire Engine features a young narrator pretending to be a firefighter. “Rex’s simple cartoon illustrations blaze with intense greens, blues, and fire color,” wrote John Peters in appraising this work for Booklist. My Race Car likewise features a narrator pretending to be a race car driver. In Publishers Weekly a contributor noted that the “economic” text is “liberally sprinkled with fun facts.” The young narrator of My Freight Train describes the types of cars and cargo found on trains. “The amount of activity on each page keeps the story vibrant,” wrote a Kirkus Reviews critic of Rex’s work, and Susan Marie Pitard asserted in School Library Journal that “illustrations of each type of car are colorful and distinct, and all of the pictures are packed with energy and movement.”
Brooms Are for Flying! is a holiday story in which Rex features common Halloween items such as masks, pumpkins, and skeletons and describes how they are used during the holiday. According to a Horn Book critic, “the energetic movements throughout are preschooler-perfect.” Linda M. Kenton, who noted in her School Library Journal appraisal that the children featured in the book represent a wide variety of ethnicities, dubbed Brooms Are for Flying “a delightful way for pre-schoolers to enjoy Halloween.” The Pie Is Cherry describes a busy day in the kitchen. “There are lots of colorful details and backgrounds in the well-stocked kitchen,” a Kirkus Reviews contributor wrote of this work, and a Publishers Weekly critic concluded that “Rex has a winning eye for domestic detail.”
Animals and vehicles star in Truck Duck, as boats, blimps, and cars fill the pages, each driven by a different type of creature. “Rex’s bright, engaging style suits this simple concept book,” wrote Lauralyn Persson in School Library Journal, while Booklist critic Hazel Rochman called the work “exciting read-aloud stuff.” The author/illustrator “adds just enough detail to tempt young viewers to linger lovingly,” wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor. Featuring sports instead of vehicles, Dunk Skunk finds Rex’s animals playing soccer, football, and basketball. “The action, the bright colors and the rhyming sounds add up to a winner,” wrote a contributor to Kirkus Reviews.
You Can Do Anything, Daddy! is the picture-book tale of a father who describes how he would rescue his son from any type of monster, pirate, or robot that stood in his way. Once rescued, the son describes how he would bring his father back to health after their adventures, using supplies such as bandages and apple juice. While the book fits in with others on the theme of parental love it “breaks new ground … by depicting both sides of the parent-child relationship,” Rachael Vilmar pointed out in her School Library Journal review. The author/artist “effectively captures a preschool imagination, and his blocky illustrations … are full of little jokes,” wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor, and a Publishers Weekly critic dubbed You Can Do Anything, Daddy! “good, goofy fun, and an ultimately heartwarming homage to the father-son bond.”
Described as a “silly and surprising” tale by a Kirkus Reviews contributor, Rex’s self-illustrated Eat Pete! revolves around an unlikely friendship. While searching for its next meal, a furry, horned, snaggle-toothed monster peers through the bedroom window of young Pete, who mistakenly believes the creature has come to play. The duo spend an exciting day racing cars, building with blocks, and pretending to be pirates until the monster forgets about his growing hunger … for a while, at least.
“Rex’s clean-lined cartoons are beautifully paced, the monster looming over the round-headed white boy and then pulling back again and again,” the Kirkus Reviews writer observed, and a critic in Publishers Weekly believed that “readers should enjoy this clever tale … about impulse control and its surprisingly sympathetic monster.”
In both Goodnight Goon: A Petrifying Parody and Furious George Goes Bananas: A Primate Parody Rex presents a humorous take on classic children’s books. In the first he tackles Margaret Wise Brown’s Goodnight Moon, focusing on a young monster readying himself for bed. Kathleen Whalin, writing in School Library Journal, described Rex’s tale as “clever, matching original verse with rhymes that seem unforced and appropriate for the new setting.”
Brown’s picture-book classic The Runaway Bunny gets a similar revisioning in The Runaway Mummy: A Petrifying Parody, while in Furious George Goes Bananas Rex pokes fun at the “Curious George” series by H.A. Rey. “Rex fondly and cleverly imitates the original, echoing its tenderness even as he mocks it,” a critic noted in appraising The Runaway Mummy for Publishers Weekly, and his “bright, digitally colored pencil illustrations hit just the right note of goofy mayhem” in Furious George Goes Bananas, according to a Kirkus Reviews writer.
Fangbone! Third Grade Barbarian, the first installment in Rex’s graphic-novel series for young readers, introduces the title character, a native of Skullbania who must leave his planet to hide a powerful weapon from the nefarious Venomous Drool. Arriving on Earth, Fangbone enrolls at Eastwood Elementary School, where he befriends the class misfit, showcases his amazing dodgeball skills, and battles interstellar invaders.
Booklist reviewer Jesse Karp observed of Fangbone! that Rex “finds rollicking opportunities in this scenario, plumbing both third-grade humor … and insecurities to fine narrative effect.” The book’s color scheme drew praise from Travis Jonker in School Library Journal who called the black, gray, and orange palette “a bold choice that isn’t traditionally appealing, but suits the book well and certainly sets it apart.”
A youngster with a penchant for creating the most incredible messes is the focus of Rex’s “Icky Ricky” series of chapter books. In Toilet Paper Mummy Ricky attempts to construct a bicycle helmet from a watermelon, uses cheese slices in lieu of paper to finish his homework, and blows a gigantic booger bubble to impress his friends. A writer in Kirkus Reviews noted that “Rex fans eager for another dose of his trademark brand of humor will walk away satisfied.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, May 1, 1997, Lauren Peterson, review of Floating Home, p. 1501; December, 1997, Susan Dove Lempke, review of The Painting Gorilla, p. 643; December 1, 1998, Ellen Mandel, review of Sunrise, p. 672; March 15, 1999, John Peters, review of My Fire Engine, p. 1334; May 1, 1999, Carolyn Phelan, review of Who Builds? p. 1601; May 15, 1999, Ilene Cooper, review of Wiggle Waggle, p. 1703; March 15, 2000, Carolyn Phelan, review of Snuggle Wuggle, p. 1388; May 1, 2000, Gillian Engberg, review of My Race Car, p. 1675; November 15, 2002, Carolyn Phelan, review of My Freight Train, p. 612; January 1, 2004, Hazel Rochman, review of Truck Duck, p. 882; January 1, 2006, Hazel Rochman, review of Jack the Builder, p. 105; January 1, 2007, Todd Morning, review of You Can Do Anything, Daddy!, p. 116; April 15, 2012, Jesse Karp, review of Fangbone! Third-Grade Barbarian, p. 51; May 15, 2016, Carolyn Phelan, review of With Any Luck, I’ll Drive a Truck, p. 60.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, February, 2012, Kate Quealy-Gainer, review of Fangbone!, p. 317.
Horn Book, September, 2000, review of Brooms Are for Flying!, p. 554.
Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2001, review of The Pie Is Cherry, p. 1220; August 15, 2002, review of My Freight Train, p. 1234; November 15, 2003, review of Truck Duck, p. 1363; February 1, 2005, review of Dunk Skunk, p. 181; January 15, 2007, review of You Can Do Anything, Daddy!, p. 80; April 1, 2010, review of Furious George Goes Bananas: A Primate Parody; December 15, 2011, review of Fangbone!; April 1, 2013, review of Toilet Paper Mummy; April 1, 2016, review of With Any Luck I’ll Drive a Truck; June 15, 2018, review of Eat Pete!
Publishers Weekly, October 5, 1998, review of Sunrise, p. 88; May 3, 1999, review of Wiggle Waggle, p. 74; May 8, 2000, review of My Race Car, p. 220; September 25, 2000, Elizabeth Devereaux, review of Brooms Are for Flying!, p. 62; August 20, 2001, review of The Pie Is Cherry, p. 78; February 25, 2002, reviews of Wiggle Waggle, Snuggle Wuggle, and Crunch Munch, all p. 68; September 16, 2002, “Get up and Go,” p. 71; March 12, 2007, review of You Can Do Anything, Daddy!, p. 57; August 3, 2009, review of The Runaway Mummy: A Petrifying Parody, p. 44; May 3, 2010, review of Furious George Goes Bananas, p. 48; November 7, 2011, review of Fangbone!, p. 71; August 6, 2012, review of The Birthday Party of Dread, p. 59; April 4, 2016, review of With Any Luck I’ll Drive a Truck, p. 84; June 18, 2018, review of Eat Pete!, p. 103.
School Library Journal, May, 2000, Susan M. Moore, review of Snuggle Wuggle, p. 148; July, 2000, John Sigwald, review of My Race Car, p. 86; September, 2000, Linda M. Kenton, review of Brooms Are for Flying!, p. 207; April, 2001, Meghan R. Malone, review of Crunch Munch, p. 117; November, 2002, Susan Marie Pitard, review of My Freight Train, p. 134; January, 2004, Lauralyn Persson, review of Truck Duck, p. 104; April, 2005, Julie Roach, review of Dunk Skunk, p. 110; March, 2007, Rachael Vilmar, review of You Can Do Anything, Daddy!, p. 185; October, 2008, Kathleen Whalin, review of Goodnight Goon: A Petrifying Parody, p. 120; July, 2009, Mary Jean Smith, review of The Runaway Mummy, p. 67; June, 2010, Steven Engelfried, review of Furious George Goes Bananas, p. 82; May, 2011, Lauralyn Persson, review of My Dog Jack Is Fat, p. 72; March, 2012, Travis Jonker, review of Fangbone!, p. 190; May, 2013, Elizabeth Swistock, review of Toilet Paper Mummy, p. 85.
Star-Ledger (Newark, NJ), October 16, 2012, Amy Kuperinsky, “School of the Savage: N.J. Author Michael Rex Creates ‘Third-Grade Barbarian.’”
ONLINE
Brightly blog, https://www.readbrightly.com/ (October 1, 2018), “Meet the Illustrator: Michael Rex.”
Michael Rex
Photo of Michael Rex
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MICHAEL REX is the creator of over thirty books for children, including the number one bestseller Goodnight Goon and the Fangbone! series. He also illustrated With Any Luck, I’ll Drive a Truck (by David Friend). He was inspired to create Icky Ricky by his two boys, Declan and Gavin, who are fine young citizens, but very disgusting. Gavin eats ketchup on cake, and Declan uses a marker to color his belly button. Along with the boys, Mr. Rex lives with his wife and their dog, Roxy, in Leonia, New Jersey. Both his wife and the dog are not disgusting at all. Visit him at www.michaelrex.blogspot.com. You won’t get dirty.
Meet the Illustrator: Michael Rex
by the Brightly Editors
In this installment of Meet the Illustrator, we chat with Michael Rex, creator of the new picture book Eat Pete and illustrator of With Any Luck, I’ll Drive a Truck, a picture book written by David Friend that features a little boy with a huge imagination. At its core, With Any Luck, I’ll Drive a Truck is a counting book; readers count the passing years of a vehicle-filled adventure as the boy operates a big crane on a building site, uses his fireman’s truck to save a cat stuck in a tree, and works a combine on a farm. But there’s a sly humor to Michael Rex’s illustrations, and the book’s sweet surprise ending will make you want to flip back to the beginning to read it again.
What first made you excited about art?
I don’t remember a time when I wasn’t drawing and making things. It always felt very natural and “right.” School never really clicked for me, and I wasn’t an athlete. So the arts were the only place I felt capable on any level. My parents were very supportive and never discouraged me from following that path, which is a good thing because I can’t even count the times that educators told me I was wasting my time with art — that I should spend my time on something “more productive.”
I drew a lot as a kid. I made animated films, I wrote goofy stories — all that good stuff that gets a kid to end up in a profession like children’s book writing and illustrating. One of the most important elements of my parents’ support was that my mom always cut out articles from magazines and newspapers about anyone who made their living drawing comics or illustrating. She knew that it was a “real job” and made sure that I knew it too. It was never looked at a hobby or a diversion. The idea that I could do what I loved to do as a career when I grew up excited me.
Also, maybe even more importantly, I like the idea of creating something, either a drawing or a story, that was not there at the start of the day.
What illustrated book from childhood has stayed with you over the years?
I was a big Richard Scarry fan when I was a child. Those were the books that I remember spending time with. Searching through the details, reading all of the labels, and looking for Lowly Worm was great fun. I also vividly remember the Curious George books.
There’s another book that I loved, that I do not own and have not been able to find the name of. It was about a few boys who sleep outside one night, and believe they see a monster, but when the sun comes up, they find out that it’s only some cornstalks that have become tangled together. The really cool thing about this book was that at the end of it, it had directions for making a shield and mask — and maybe a spear or something. The illustrations were two-color (black and blue) and I really loved the world presented in that book. In a way, sometimes my memory of a book is more powerful than the book itself.
Oh! And Syd Hoff. I loved Syd Hoff’s books.
Where do you find inspiration for your drawings?
Inspiration is a tough thing to nail down. Throughout my life, so many things have inspired me that it really is almost impossible to begin writing about them. However, one thing that has been on my mind lately is that often the things that really, truly, and deeply inspire me are insanely different from what I actually do. While I am certainly excited by all sorts of illustration — from daily comics, to ’50s sci-fi book covers, to vintage picture books, to animated film design — some of my most profound inspirations aren’t images at all.
For instance, music is really important to me. David Bowie inspires me to try to do something different every few years. The Kinks inspire me to make sure that there’s always a story in each drawing. The Jam inspires me to keep things simple. The Talking Heads inspire me to add detail and layers.
I could go on and on, but I do want to add one thing about inspiration: I think it’s important to draw from as many different places as possible. So if you’re aspiring to be a picture book artist, looking at picture books is great. But pull something in from outside of that field. Look at fine art, look at logos, look at graffiti, watch films, read nonfiction, absorb the real world around you. Nothing’s duller than looking at a drawing that looks like it was made by someone who knows nothing but drawing.
What does your workspace look like?
I work in the attic of my house; it’s very long and the roof is slanted on either side. It’s a little like being in a submarine. It’s usually pretty cluttered with books, art supplies, more books, and some of my toy collection. I have one big drawing table, and another table with my computer. Recently, I added a Wacom Cintiq, which allows me to create digital illustrations by drawing directly onto the screen. It’s like a very high-end, heavy-duty iPad. While my studio isn’t as bright as I’d like, one of my favorite things about it is that there is a set of “Amityville Horror” windows on one end.
REX Studio
Rex Windows
What materials do you most like to use?
As far as materials go, all of my illustrations start with traditional media. I use pencils, paper, markers, vellum for tracing, and Bristol board on occasion. When I started in 1995 my finals were drawn with a black colored pencil, but I used a quill and ink for Goodnight Goon and my other parody books. I also use Q-tips (clean ones!) to smudge pencil and create values. I’ve used paper blenders, but found the small cotton swabs to be very useful. For my Fangbone! graphic novels, I wanted a quick, loose line so I ended up using thin Sharpie. Drawing with a Sharpie can be like drawing with a fire hose, but it made me work fast and stay away from adding too much detail.
For With Any Luck, I’ll Drive a Truck, I wanted the lines to be very uniform so I used a thin black Copic marker.
Rex Art 1
Once all of the drawing is done, I add all of my color and textures digitally using Photoshop. I also use it for correcting drawings, adjusting compositions, and adding details I may have missed. The trucks in this book were as accurate as possible, and I would sometimes miss a detail and put it in weeks after I thought I was done. The problem with doing too much digital work, however, is that when I start to draw with pen and paper, I often want to reach for the “Undo” button.
What design resources would you recommend to young artists?
For young artists, I always stress that the most important thing that they can do is to look at the world around them. It is a literally endless stream of information offering unlimited design possibilities. Years ago, I was doing a week-long school visit — a sort of short-term residency — and I was set up in the art room. The room looked out over a playground, and then to a street of suburban houses. When the students came in, I asked them each to draw a house. Naturally, most drew a square with a triangle on top. Some ambitious students added a chimney.
I then brought the class over to the windows and we looked at all the real houses. For ten minutes, we talked about shapes, details, textures, and anything else they could point out. I then had them go back to their tables and we started over. I asked them all to draw another house. The difference between the first drawings and the second drawings was striking. The kids felt so proud because these houses looked like “real” houses.
How do you get kids excited by art?
To me, I find it very exciting to see exactly how something is done, so when I do school visits I make sure to do a step-by-step, live drawing demo for the students. I make sure that they see that illustration is a process that can be learned and not some sort of “talent.” I always say that talent is the ability to stick with something and be able to do it over and over until it’s right.
I have, in the past, seen illustrators do things that seemed more like parlor tricks. Saying to the kids, “Look how fast I can draw my cartoon characters!” is fun, but offers no educational value at all.
What have your kids taught you about books and reading?
I’m glad this question came up. One of the most important things that I’ve learned from my kids, and children I meet at school visits, is that they don’t care if you had a starred review in Kirkus. It doesn’t matter to them if you were written up in the New York Times, they don’t ask how many friends you have on Facebook, and they don’t follow Twitter. They see the book for what it is, and not all the nonsense that can surround it. Spending time with children who are reading my books forces me to think about the work, (the writing, the drawing, the pacing, the layout) and to forget all of the superfluous baloney that can weigh a creator down.
What’s the best color name you’ve ever heard of?
Hmmm, I work digitally, so that’s a tough one. However, when I do my sketches I use a Prismacolor pencil called “Non-Photo Blue.”
Rex Art 2
It’s a holdover from when artwork was photographed to be reprinted. Cameras only picked up black or white, so this special blue wouldn’t be seen.
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Print Marked Items
Eat Pete!
Publishers Weekly.
265.25 (June 18, 2018): p103.
COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Eat Pete!
Michael Rex. Penguin/Paulsen, $17.99 (32p) ISBN 978-1-5247-3880-8
The hairy, snaggletoothed, horned monster who appears at Pete's window isn't some misunderstood creature
in search of a friend, the kind of character that's a fixture in so many children's books. Nope, this monster
has one goal in mind: "EAT PETE!" Pete doesn't know that, though, and after greeting the monster as a new
playmate, he comes up with lots of ways for the two to have fun. In fact, the monster has such a good time--
racing and crashing toy cars, building with blocks, and playing pirates (the monster must walk the plank,
and his expression of high melodrama is worthy of classic Hollywood)--that, while he gets dreamy-eyed
and drools at the thought of eating Pete, he's able to delay gratification, at least for a little while. The story
ends more conventionally than it begins: the monster apologizes; the two friends hug it out. But readers
should enjoy this clever tale from Rex (Goodnight Goon) about impulse control and its surprisingly
sympathetic monster. Ages 2-5. (Aug.)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Eat Pete!" Publishers Weekly, 18 June 2018, p. 103. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A544712484/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=ccd6a188.
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Rex, Michael: EAT PETE!
Kirkus Reviews.
(June 15, 2018):
COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Rex, Michael EAT PETE! Nancy Paulsen Books (Children's Fiction) $17.99 8, 14 ISBN: 978-1-5247-3880-
8
A monster looks for a snack.
Preschooler Pete is playing cars in his bedroom when a purple-furred, horned, and snaggle-toothed monster
peers through the window. Pete invites the monster to play, but the monster's intentions are made clear by
the thought bubble hovering over his head: This monster wants to "EAT PETE!" Luckily for Pete, this
monster is easily distracted and decides that "playing cars looked like fun." Pete and the monster cheerfully
race cars, play pirates, and build with blocks together; each time they switch activities, the monster first
thinks about eating Pete and then decides to play. But this doesn't last long: By the book's middle, the
monster does in fact eat Pete, the act presaged by a moment when the monster's enormous, drooling face
occupies the entire double-page spread just behind oblivious, smiling Pete. But after that? Playing alone is
not so much fun. Rex smartly teases out the will-he, won't-he just long enough for readers to assume it'll
never happen before shocking little ones with the deed. A happy ending awaits, but little readers will be
briefly flabbergasted and quite giggly. Rex's clean-lined cartoons are beautifully paced, the monster
looming over the round-headed white boy and then pulling back again and again before a nearly wordless
spread in which the monster sits, satisfied, one hand on his tummy before his final change of heart.
A silly and surprising picture book that will quickly join regular rotation. (Picture book. 2-4)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Rex, Michael: EAT PETE!" Kirkus Reviews, 15 June 2018. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A543008959/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=e0397d17.
Accessed 29 Aug. 2018.
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With Any Luck, I'll Drive a Truck
Carolyn Phelan
Booklist.
112.18 (May 15, 2016): p60.
COPYRIGHT 2016 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
With Any Luck, I'll Drive a Truck. By David Friend. Illus. by Michael Rex. June 2016. 32p. Penguin/Nancy
Paulsen, $16.99 (9780399169564). PreS-K.
A seven-year-old boy reminisces about learning to run a variety of trucks. As a two-year-old, he taught
himself to operate a concrete mixer. At three, he mastered the backhoe and a fireman's truck. At four, he
could run a construction crane. At five, he could drive an 18-wheeler, a moving van, an earth mover, a
paver, a forklift, a farm combine, and more. In the main illustrations, this capable kid appears to be
operating full-size equipment. But, near the story's end, the scale shifts and a scene shows him in his
bedroom, where the floor is littered with toy trucks. Indeed, he hopes to drive a truck someday, after he
grows up. The rhythmic, rhyming text has just enough detail to keep kids engaged without slowing down
the pace. Drawn in ink and digitally colored, the illustrations feature the boy, his dressed-animal helpers,
and his powerful trucks and other equipment. This colorful picture book is prime material for kids yearning
to tackle tough jobs with a little help from big machines.--Carolyn Phelan
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Phelan, Carolyn. "With Any Luck, I'll Drive a Truck." Booklist, 15 May 2016, p. 60. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A453913725/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=8e348573.
Accessed 29 Aug. 2018.
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With Any Luck I'll Drive a Truck
Publishers Weekly.
263.14 (Apr. 4, 2016): p84.
COPYRIGHT 2016 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
With Any Luck I'll Drive a Truck
David Friend, illus. by Michael Rex. Penguin/Paulsen, $16.99 (32p) ISBN 978-0-399-16956-4
Friend, an editor at Vanity Fair, debuts with a cheeky poem of a picture book, in which a boy proudly
describes his prowess as he helms several trucks, trailers, and construction vehicles. Humorously colloquial
rhymes are well-matched to the mischief on display as the boy--accompanied by a turtle, penguin, and pig--
engages in construction and demolition, occasionally saving the day: "I also worked a fireman's truck--/
and, sure enough, a cat got stuck!/ The kids were sad and I was sadder.../ until I saved her with a ladder."
Rex's (Goodnight Goon) digitally colored ink cartoons are full of vehicular action and mechanical details,
from the dirt-caked treads of a wrecking ball to the gleam of an 18-wheeler's mesh grille, cast by the truck's
headlights. As the boy ages, his skills grow ("At 6, if you would like to know,/1 spent the winter plowing
snow"), and while the story ends in familiar territory (the boy's bedroom is involved), readers caught up in
the fun may still be caught by surprise. Ages 3-5. Illustrator's agent: Ronnie Ann Flerman, Flerman Agency.
(June)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"With Any Luck I'll Drive a Truck." Publishers Weekly, 4 Apr. 2016, p. 84. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A448902786/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=cb597cbc.
Accessed 29 Aug. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A448902786
8/29/2018 General OneFile - Saved Articles
http://go.galegroup.com/ps/marklist.do?actionCmd=GET_MARK_LIST&userGroupName=schlager&inPS=true&prodId=ITOF&ts=1535567144853 5/5
Friend, David: WITH ANY LUCK I'LL
DRIVE A TRUCK
Kirkus Reviews.
(Apr. 1, 2016):
COPYRIGHT 2016 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Friend, David WITH ANY LUCK I'LL DRIVE A TRUCK Nancy Paulsen Books (Children's Picture
Books) $16.99 6, 14 ISBN: 978-0-399-16956-4
A delightful ode to trucks goes above and beyond the usual churning, wrecking, and pounding. Cheery
rhyming text declares from the first page, "At 2, when I could reach the seat, / I taught myself to make
concrete." And we're off! Accompanied by a pig, turtle, and penguin, a small, hard-hatted white child
recounts driving just about every truck, machine, and tractor imaginable. From backhoes to snowplows, the
child and faithful animal crew are in every cab or assisting on the ground. All the favorites are here
(bulldozer, dump truck, 18-wheeler, etc.), with some mechanical monsters lauded less often in books of this
sort (hay baler, combine harvester, earthmover, etc.). By the end, the trucks are revealed to be mere toys, but
a flash-forward to the future shows, "When I grow up...you know wassup. / With any luck, I'll drive a
truck." Friend's rhymes produce a one-of-a-kind mighty litany of machines. These words pair neatly with
Rex's art; his cartoonish style renders each vehicle with a meticulousness that will meet the approval of
even the strictest vehicle enthusiast. Lucky indeed are the kids who get to indulge in this splendid little
wish-fulfillment daydream. (Picture book. 2-5)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Friend, David: WITH ANY LUCK I'LL DRIVE A TRUCK." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Apr. 2016. General
OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A447747747/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=676742d4. Accessed 29 Aug. 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A447747747