SATA
ENTRY TYPE:
WORK TITLE: Little Blue Truck and Racer Red
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE:
WEBSITE: https://aliceschertle.com/
CITY: New Salem
STATE:
COUNTRY: United States
NATIONALITY: American
LAST VOLUME: SATA 379
RESEARCHER NOTES:
PERSONAL
Surname rhymes with “turtle”; born April 7, 1941, in Los Angeles, CA; daughter of Floyd C. and Marguerite Sanger; married Richard Schertle (a general contractor), December 21, 1963; children: Jennifer, Katherine, John.
EDUCATION:University of Southern California, B.S. (cum laude), 1963; attended University of California, Los Angeles.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer. Highland School, Inglewood, CA, elementary school teacher, 1963-65; writer, 1965—.
MEMBER:National Council of Teachers of English, Authors Guild, Authors League, Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators.
AWARDS:Parents’ Choice Picture Book Award, 1989, and Christopher Award, 1990, both for William and Grandpa; Parents’ Choice Picture Book Award, 1991, for Witch Hazel; Best Books citation, School Library Journal, 1995, for Advice for a Frog, and Other Poems; National Parenting Publications Award, 1995, for How Now, Brown Cow?, and 1996, for Down the Road; Notable Children’s Books citations, American Library Association, 1996, for both Advice for a Frog, and Other Poems and Down the Road; Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Gold Award, 2002, for All You Need for a Snowman; Children’s Books of the Year selection, Bank Street College School of Education, and Myers Outstanding Book Award honorable mention, Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Bigotry and Human Rights in North America, both 2007, both for We; Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award, Pennsylvania Center for the Book, 2010, for Button Up!
WRITINGS
Author of a blog.
SIDELIGHTS
A former elementary-grade teacher, Alice Schertle is the author of poetry and dozens of engaging books for children, among them William and Grandpa, Down the Road, We, and Little Blue Truck. “I write children’s books because I love them—always have,” Schertle once stated. “The various seasons of my childhood are identified in my memory with the books that were important to me then. There was the year Mary Poppins floated into the lives of Jane and Michael Banks and me. And my sixth-grade year I think I spent with Black Stallion [by Walter Farley] and [Marguerite Henry’s] King of the Wind.” As an author who now provides such moments for new generations of young people, Schertle takes her work seriously; as she once asserted, “We who write for young children share the considerable responsibility and the wonderful opportunity of showing them that words can paint pictures too.”
Schertle was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. “As a child, I could usually be found folded into some unlikely position (as often as not I was in a tree) either reading a story or trying to write one,” she once told SATA. “My writing was always very much influenced by the book I was reading at the moment. The Wizard of Oz and Mary Poppins inspired me to try my hand at fantasy. The Black Stallion led to a rash of horse stories. And after a summer of reading Nancy Drew books, I churned out mysteries peppered with words like ‘sleuth’ and ‘chum.’”
After graduating from the University of Southern California in 1963, Schertle married and began teaching elementary school students in Inglewood, California. Following the birth of her first child two years later, she left teaching to devote herself full time to raising what would soon be three children. It was not until 1975, when her kids were old enough to allow her some free time, that she began writing again. Her first book for children, The Gorilla in the Hall, tells the story of a young boy’s vivid imagination and was published in 1977.
Although The Gorilla in the Hall received little notice from critics, Schertle’s next book, The April Fool, was proclaimed a winner. An amusing story about a curmudgeonly king’s search for a pair of shoes that will not hurt his feet, The April Fool was described by School Library Journal reviewer Patt Hays as “a satisfying story.” For Schertle, the story “almost seem[ed] to write itself, from beginning to end. … I started with ‘Once there was a king whose feet hurt,’ and wrote through to ‘the end’ with scarcely a hitch along the way.”
In her early work, Schertle often found story ideas in the activities of her three children. “ In My Treehouse was inspired by my son’s adventures in his own tree house,” she once told SATA. “As a child, I spent a good deal of time in trees, so I took John up on his invitation to join him in his house in a big fruitless mulberry. In fact, I did a lot of writing up there, though I find they’re not making tree houses as big as they used to.” With In My Treehouse, Schertle translates the experience of being in her son’s tree fort into a book about a young boy’s love of being apart from the hustle and bustle of the world at large, and about gaining independence.
Living with cats as well as with children provided Schertle the inspiration for That Olive!, a picture book about a mischievous kitty that Lucy Young Clem described in School Library Journal as “a hall-of-fame cat story.” Andy spends a lot of time looking for his cat, Olive, and Olive spends a lot of time playing hide-and-seek with Andy. Only the lure of tunafish sandwiches brings the elusive Olive out into the open and into Andy’s arms. Animals of another sort star in Goodnight, Hattie, My Dearie, My Dove, as Schertle deals with the familiar theme of the bedtime routine. First published in 1985 and reissued with new illustrations in 2002, this picture book describes how Hattie assembles a parade of stuffed animals to take to bed with her, creating a “reassuring and recognizable bedtime (and counting) story,” as a Kirkus Reviews contributor noted.
Schertle focuses on multigenerational relationships in several of her books, among them the award-winning William and Grandpa. When Willie comes to stay with his lonely grandfather, the two share a host of simple activities—singing songs, catching shadows, making shaving cream moustaches, and telling old stories about Willie’s father—that bond them into a close and loving relationship. “The continuity of generations and the warm relationship between children and the elderly are communicated equally through story and pictures,” noted Carolyn Caywood in School Library Journal.
Another story about making friends, Jeremy Bean’s St. Patrick’s Day features a first grader whose excitement about his school’s St. Patrick’s Day party withers when he arrives at school and realizes that he has neglected to wear his green sweater. Noting Schertle’s “clear prose and sympathetic observation of small children and their concerns,” a Kirkus Reviews critic praised Jeremy Bean’s St. Patrick’s Day as a good book about making friends, even with school principals. The story is included in the chapter book Look Out, Jeremy Bean!, which pairs illustrations by David Slonim with two additional stories that find the boy endeavoring to assemble a collection of something to show to his classmates as well as finding an unusual new pet hiding in a clump of dust under the couch. “Youngsters will empathize with the everyday occurrences in these funny, totally childlike tales,” predicted Carrie Rogers-Whitehead in her review of Look Out, Jeremy Bean! in School Library Journal.
In Witch Hazel, which a Publishers Weekly writer called a “touching story of the triumph of imagination,” Schertle tells the story of Johnny, a young boy who is raised by his two grown brothers, Bill and Bart, after the death of their parents. Bill and Bart are farmers who can do without the young boy’s help as they work their small farm. When they give their young brother some pumpkin seed and a branch of witch hazel, Johnny plants the seeds and makes a scarecrow lady out of the tree branch, dressing “her” in one of his mother’s old dresses. When Bill and Bart leave Johnny and take their crop to market after the fall harvest, Johnny dreams that the scarecrow, “Witch Hazel,” has tossed his huge orange pumpkin up into the sky, where it has remained, transformed into a full, round harvest moon.
Little Frog’s Song tells of the adventures and fears of a young frog that is washed from his lily pad during a fierce rain shower and must now find his way home. “The text … is a song, rich with images and the rhythm of repetition reminiscent of the writing of Margaret Wise Brown,” commented Katie Cerra in Five Owls. Equally lyrical is Schertle’s How Now, Brown Cow?, in which everything from milking time to a cow’s longing to jump the moon is covered in verse. A Publishers Weekly reviewer described How Now, Brown Cow? as “by turns funny and tender, cheeky and thoughtful” while Booklist critic Ilene Cooper dubbed it “beauteously bovine.”
A number of Schertle’s prose titles deal with family situations, such as Maisie, which gives an overview of Grandmother Maisie’s life, and Down the Road, which recounts young Hetty’s first experience going to the store alone. When Hetty is asked to go and buy eggs for the family’s breakfast, she takes the responsibility seriously. Everything goes fine until she is homeward bound. Reaching up to pick an apple at the side of the road, she accidentally drops the fragile eggs on the ground. Hetty is afraid to return home empty-handed, so she climbs the apple tree, where her worried parents eventually find and soothe her. As Martha V. Parravano commented in Horn Book, Down the Road unites themes of temptation and redemption with “a modern lesson in supportive parenting techniques,” thereby creating a “unique story,” and Booklist reviewer Shelley Townsend-Hudson dubbed it “a fine book that speaks straight to the heart.”
A poetry collection about memories and mementos, Keepers elicits a variety of memories in different moods, ranging from comical to pensive. In fact, Booklist critic Susan Dove Lempke found many of Schertle’s poems here to be “thought provoking” and suggested that they would be best understood by an audience more sophisticated than the intended one. On the other hand, I Am the Cat, a mix of narrative verses and haikus, takes a fresh look at a common subject, demonstrating in “this somewhat surprising book … that cats aren’t always soft, cuddly felines,” to quote Stephanie Zvirin in Booklist. A Publishers Weekly reviewer remarked that the feline-focused collection “distills the essence of cat with humor and wry eloquence.” A Horn Book reviewer cited as noteworthy the poems’ “sinuous” rhythms, “irony, surprise, and humor,” concluding that I Am the Cat “holds its own in the cat-poetry category.”
Looking at the world with a fresh perspective is often the role of poetry. In A Lucky Thing, written for somewhat older readers, Schertle creates a thematically unified and “thoughtful book of poems [that] celebrates the creative process,” a Publishers Weekly reviewer noted. The work garnered favorable reviews. By reflecting the girl narrator’s point of view of life on the farm, Schertle allows children to “see the ordinary with new eyes,” commented Lempke, the critic adding that readers might be inspired to write verse of their own. Among the work’s other enthusiasts numbered a Horn Book reviewer, who appreciated the “humor,” “rhythmic assurance,” and “robust language” of these fourteen lyric poems. Comparing the verses favorably to those of Nancy Larrick, Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books reviewer Deborah Stevenson praised A Lucky Thing for its “delicate and imaginative precision” and the “unmannered lyricism [that] brings a freshness to oft-elegized subjects.” Stevenson even suggested that Schertle’s book might transform some children into poetry lovers.
The companion titles All You Need for a Snowman and All You Need for a Beach are geared to the preschool crowd. With its “bouncy and light” text instructions, All You Need for a Snowman “rolls along like hand-packed snow,” wrote Martha Topol in School Library Journal. Even with such rhythmic drive, Phelan asserted that the text goes on “without ever falling into lockstep predictability.” The word “except” ends each page, encouraging readers and listeners to turn the pages of this “wintertime treat,” as a Publishers Weekly reviewer dubbed the picture book. Joanna Rudge predicted in Horn Book that All You Need for a Snowman would make “a wonderfully childlike and ebullient addition to the winter repertoire,” while a Kirkus Reviews contributor suggested that the work would be “read again and again.”
Schertle opts for fun in The Skeleton in the Closet, as a clackety creature ransacks a little boy’s bedroom looking for something to cover its bare bones. A critic in Kirkus Reviews praised the author’s “humorous upbeat rhyme,” and Lempke pointed out in Horn Book that the story’s non-Halloween focus makes The Skeleton in the Closet useful “to chill and thrill story-hour audiences year-round.” An Anaconda Ate My Homework! pairs another lighthearted story by Schertle with artwork by Aaron Renier, this time for slightly older children. When Digby is assigned a way-too-long homework assignment, he trudges home despondently. Then the adventures begin, as the boy is carried off by a raptor and menaced by a hungry anaconda, a frisky gorilla, and a charging elephant. Each time, Digby manages to save himself, and he is ultimately rewarded when the president of the United States vetoes the dreaded homework assignment. “Schertle’s over-the-top text and zany situations will appeal to children who enjoy … frenetically paced adventures,” predicted School Library Journal contributor Grace Oliff in a review of the story.
For ¡Pío Peep! Traditional Spanish Nursery Rhymes, Schertle provides adaptations of the rhymes into English. It was a project she found absorbing and satisfying: “Since these are not literal translations,” she noted, “but poetic recreations, my challenge was to work out English lines that would fall easily on the ear while retaining the humor and charm and delight of the originals.” Ilene Cooper, in Booklist, wrote that both the Spanish and English versions “have a sweet, rhythmic simplicity,” and Ann Welton called ¡Pío Peep! “a wonderful reassuring lap book” in her review in School Library Journal.
In One, Two, I Love You, Schertle’s take on the popular “Buckle My Shoe” rhyme, a mother elephant and her young son spend an adventurous day riding a train, playing hide-and-seek, and catching falling stars. The author’s “verse is lyrical and charming,” noted School Library Journal contributor Jane Barrer, and Phelan wrote in Booklist that the work “offers a counting rhyme with an affectionate tone.” The Adventures of Old Bo Bear centers on a little boy and his well-worn teddy bear. After Bo emerges from the washing machine missing an ear, his owner conjures a number of fanciful scenarios that contributed to his toy’s condition, including a battle with pirates, a thrilling ride on a bucking bronco, and a showdown with some outlaws in the Old West. “The tale slyly segues between the real and imagined worlds,” a Publishers Weekly critic observed in a review of The Adventures of Old Bo Bear.
The yearly life cycle of a large brown bear is the focus of Very Hairy Bear, “a terrific way to introduce little ones to the seasons,” according to Cooper. Schertle follows the lumbering creature as it fishes for salmon, forages for berries, and prepares for hibernation. The author’s “patterned language sets up a playful cadence,” wrote a Kirkus Reviews contributor. “Schertle makes frequent use of interior rhymes and alliteration to move the action along,” Wendy Lukehart noted in a School Library Journal review.
Little Blue Truck, a “pointed tribute to good hearts and amiable natures everywhere,” according to Booklist reviewer John Peters, examines themes of kindness and courtesy. As it passes through the countryside each day, Little Blue, a pickup truck, cheerfully greets the rural residents, in stark contrast to rude, noisy, and obnoxious Dump Truck. When Dump gets stuck in the mud, its calls for help go unanswered until Little Blue comes to the rescue. Little Blue Truck’s animal friends prove that they are “willing to do whatever it takes to get their pal back on the road,” explained a Chickdee Lit reviewer. “With a text full of truck sounds and animal noises to read aloud, here is a rollicking homage to the power of friendship and the rewards of helping others.” “This old-fashioned picture book has a timeless, if well-trod, message,” remarked Horn Book critic Kitty Flynn, while also citing the humorous gouache illustrations by Jill McElmurry. A contributor in Publishers Weekly remarked that Schertle’s “rhyming stanzas are succinct,” and a Kirkus Reviews critic noted that the author’s “rhythmic text … fairly chants itself.” A sequel, Little Blue Truck Leads the Way, follows Blue into the big city, where the pickup truck is crowded by noisy cars, busses, taxis, and even a street sweeper. In Booklist, Hazel Rochman dubbed Schertle’s story “welcome fuel for many preschoolers’ imaginative play.”
Little Blue Truck returns for a third outing in Little Blue Truck’s Christmas. Little Blue is charged with delivering five trees from the salestoad’s lot to the homes of their purchasers. The fifth tree, however, is a surprise: it is Little Blue Truck’s own tree, and it is already fully decorated. “The sparkling lights on the truck’s own tree,” declared a Kirkus Reviews contributor, “will put a twinkle in a toddler’s eyes.” Little Blue Truck is also featured in Little Blue Truck’s Beep-Along Book and in Little Blue Truck’s Halloween, in which the eponymous vehicle is traveling with his friend Toad to a Halloween party, picking up various costumed animals on the way. The book is designed so that readers can lift a flap on the next page to discover the animal hidden under the costume. “Schertle’s bouncy rhymes set up each encounter,” wrote Elissa Gershowitz in the Horn Book. “Beloved Little Blue,” concluded a Kirkus Reviews contributor, “takes a bit of the mystery—and fear—out of Halloween costumes.”
Little Blue Truck and Toad are back in the 2018 volume Little Blue Truck’s Springtime: A Lift-the-Flap Book. The two take a drive together and observe the sights of springtime. They see butterflies, blooming flowers, and baby animals. Little Blue Truck and Toad also interact with animal friends as they make their way. Among the animals they see are sheep, ducks, cows, pigs, chickens, and rabbits. A Kirkus Reviews critic described the book as “uncomplicated fun that sets readers up for the earlier, more-complicated books to come.” “This book is a fun read to celebrate the spring season,” asserted Deanna Smith in School Library Journal.
In Good Night, Little Blue Truck, the two main characters encounter a storm while they are traveling home. Their animal friends get nervous when the storm becomes intense and noisy. However, they begin rationalizing, noting that the rain the storm brings will be good for the plants and that thunder is nothing to be afraid of. After the storm dies down, the animals get ready for bed. A writer in Kirkus Reviews suggested that Good Night, Little Blue Truck offered “a sweet reminder that it’s easy to weather a storm with the company and kindness of friends.”
In Time for School, Little Blue Truck the lovable protagonist encounters a yellow school bus on a rural road and wishes he could be as important as her. The school bus kindly says only she can do the job of taking farm animals to school because she is built appropriately for the task. When Little Blue Truck spots a tearful Piggy who slept late and missed the school bus, he offers up his services. Little Blue Truck takes Piggy on an adventurous path through the woods that the school bus would not be able to make, getting Piggy to class right on time. A writer in Kirkus Reviews described Little Blue Truck as “a brave, helpful, and hopeful character young readers will root for.” The same critic deemed Time for School, Little Blue Truck “a terrific choice for the preschool crowd.” The “rhyming text adds a delightful pacing and rhythm,” opined School Library Journal critic Sarah Webb. “A charming tale of an endearing little truck on a mission. Perfect for story times,” concluded Webb.
In the award-winning We, Schertle offers a “panoramic, free-verse view of the human story,” remarked a contributor in Kirkus Reviews. Illustrated by Kenneth Addison, the book traces human evolution from its origins in Africa to the contemporary, and her spare text explores humankind’s many achievements in the arts and sciences. According to Booklist critic Rochman, Schertle’s tale “is about the diffusion of cultures and the rich connections.” Writing in Publishers Weekly, a critic described We as “a compelling work that celebrates humankind’s shared beginnings as much as its diversity and achievements.”
Such a Little Mouse takes a tiny rodent through three seasons of the year: spring, summer, and fall. “A lyrical text follows a fetching young mouse as he goes about his daily activities in each season. Schertle uses repetition to engage” her audience, declared Jennifer M. Brabander, writing in the Horn Book. In each season the little mouse takes time to plan for the coming winter. “Neither obsessive nor a procrastinator,” said a Publishers Weekly reviewer, “the mouse knows he can get the job done and still have time” to visit with neighbors and pursue his own interests. When winter arrives and snow coats the earth, the little mouse can enjoy the fruits of his labor in the safety and coziness of his home. “All year he’s been storing seeds, watercress and acorns,” observed a Kirkus Reviews contributor; “now he can bake acorn bread and cook seed-and-watercress soup.” Heidi Estrin noted in School Library Journal that the story provides “a nice example of the virtue of being contented with one’s lot.” “Young children,” stated Carolyn Phelan in Booklist, “will enjoy watching this small but independent character take care of himself.”
(open new)With Little Blue Truck’s Valentine, Blue starts to get sad after delivering so many Valentine gifts to others, wishing he received one too. All the animals are happy to receive their colorful cards. When Blue finishes his shift, he goes home to find all his animal friends waiting to give them a Valentine’s surprise. A Kirkus Reviews contributor said that “Little Blue Truck keeps on truckin’—but not without some backfires.”
In Time for School, Little Blue Truck, Little Blue Truck wish he could drive the animals to school like the school bus does. The school bus explains to Blue that he is not designed to do that, leaving him to feel sad. Blue notices that Piggy missed the school bus, so Blue offers to drive it there by taking a shortcut so they arrive on time. Blue drives in places where the school bus cannot go, proving he is capable of doing what he sets his mind to. Writing in School Library Journal, Sarah Webb called it “a charming tale of an endearing little truck on a mission,” adding that it would be “perfect for story times.” Booklist contributor Carolyn Phelan declared that “this picture book will brighten any back-to-school display.”
With Little Blue Truck Makes a Friend, Hen stops Little Blue Truck and Toad as they are driving around the countryside. She alerts them to someone new who moved in down the road. They listen to other barnyard animals talk about how they are different from their new neighbor. Blue invites the animals to hop in the back and properly meet the new neighbor, who happens to be a woodchuck. A Kirkus Reviews contributor called the book “sweet and silly.” The critic pointed out that “the obvious lesson is enshrined in the fun of rhyming language and childlike animals.”
In Little Blue Truck and Racer Red, Racer Red challenges Little Blue Truck to a race in the countryside. He agrees, and the two take off at high speed through the farmlands. All of Blue’s friends come out to watch and cheer him on. Ultimately, Red Racer crosses the finish line first but is surprised when Blue says that he had fun even though he didn’t win. Red Racer starts to see that joy that comes from having fun with friends even if he does not win. A Kirkus Reviews contributor described it as being “a friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.”(close new)
“When I talk to classes of children and tell them about the unfinished stories I used to write, they usually laugh and say they do the same thing,” Schertle once explained to SATA. “Sometimes I suggest they try writing the last half of a story first, and then go back and write the beginning. That’s something I occasionally do now with my books. Sometimes a funny, or exciting, or ridiculous situation will pop into my head, an idea that would make a good middle of a story. So I’ll sit down and write about some characters who find themselves in that situation, though I haven’t yet any idea how they got there or what will finally happen to them. Then comes the hard part—writing the beginning and the ending, and making the parts fit together smoothly and logically.
“One of the nicest things about being an author is that it gives me the opportunity to talk to classes of children about books and writing. I always tell them that the best way to learn to write is to read and read and read. It’s advice I take myself. There’s a tall stack of books precariously balanced on my bedside table, and a good many of them are children’s books. One lifetime will never be long enough for me to read all the books I want to read, but it’ll be fun to try.”
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, September 15, 1994, Ilene Cooper, review of How Now, Brown Cow?, p. 133; April 15, 1995, Stephanie Zvirin, review of Maisie, p. 1508; September 15, 1995, Shelley Townsend-Hudson, review of Down the Road, p. 161; October 15, 1996, Susan Dove Lempke, review of Keepers, p. 428; March 15, 1999, Susan Dove Lempke, review of A Lucky Thing, p. 1340; April 1, 1999, Stephanie Zvirin, review of I Am the Cat, p. 1417; April 1, 2002, Shelley Townsend-Hudson, review of Goodnight, Hattie, My Dearie, My Dove, p. 1335; November 15, 2002, Carolyn Phelan, review of All You Need for a Snowman, p. 612; October 1, 2004, Carolyn Phelan, review of One, Two, I Love You, p. 338; February 1, 2006, Julie Cummins, review of The Adventures of Old Bo Bear, p. 57; May 1, 2007, Hazel Rochman, review of We, p. 94; October 1, 2007, Ilene Cooper, review of Very Hairy Bear, p. 67; April 1, 2008, John Peters, review of Little Blue Truck, p. 55; May 15, 2009, Kathleen Isaacs, review of Button Up! Wrinkled Rhymes, p. 41; July 1, 2009, Hazel Rochman, review of Little Blue Truck Leads the Way, p. 70; February 1, 2015, Carolyn Phelan, review of Such a Little Mouse, p. 57; May 1, 2021, Carolyn Phelan, review of Time for School, Little Blue Truck, p. 52.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books, June 1, 1999, Deborah Stevenson, review of A Lucky Thing, pp. 364-65; January 1, 2003, review of All You Need for a Snowman, p. 210; September 1, 2003, Janice Del Negro, review of The Skeleton in the Closet, p. 33; June 1, 2004, Hope Morrison, review of All You Need for a Beach, p. 436; December 1, 2007, Jeannette Hulick, review of Very Hairy Bear, p. 187; June 1, 2008, Deborah Stevenson, review of Little Blue Truck, p. 442; June 1, 2009, Deborah Stevenson, review of Button Up!, p. 419.
Five Owls, April 1, 1992, Katie Cerra, review of Little Frog’s Song, pp. 76-77.
Horn Book, September 1, 1991, Ann A. Flowers, review of Witch Hazel, p. 589; March 1, 1996, Martha V. Parravano, review of Down the Road, pp. 191-92; May 1, 1999, review of A Lucky Thing, p. 347; September 1, 1999, review of I Am the Cat, p. 621; November 1, 2002, Joanna Rudge, review of All You Need for a Snowman, p. 739; May 1, 2008, Kitty Flynn, review of Little Blue Truck, p. 299; May 1, 2009, Joanna Rudge Long, review of Button Up!, p. 316; July 1, 2009, Robin L. Smith, review of Look Out, Jeremy Bean!, p. 431; March 1, 2015, Jennifer M. Brabander, review of Such a Little Mouse, p. 82; September 1, 2016, Elissa Gershowitz, review of Little Blue Truck’s Halloween, p. 74.
Kirkus Reviews, January 15, 1987, review of Jeremy Bean’s St. Patrick’s Day, p. 132; March 1, 1999, review of I Am the Cat, pp. 381-382; March 1, 2002, review of Goodnight, Hattie, My Dearie, My Dove, p. 345; September 15, 2002, review of All You Need for a Snowman, pp. 1399-1400; March 1, 2003, review of When the Moon Is High, p. 397; April 1, 2003, review of Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, p. 539; April 15, 2003, review of ¡Pío Peep! Traditional Spanish Nursery Rhymes, p. 603; July 15, 2003, review of The Skeleton in the Closet, p. 968; January 15, 2006, review of The Adventures of Old Bo Bear, p. 89; April 15, 2007, review of We; October 1, 2007, review of Very Hairy Bear; April 1, 2008, review of Little Blue Truck; April 15, 2009, review of Look Out, Jeremy Bean!; September 15, 2009, review of Little Blue Truck Leads the Way; September 1, 2014, review of Little Blue Truck’s Christmas; December 15, 2014, review of Such a Little Mouse; July 20, 2016, review of Little Blue Truck’s Halloween; July 1, 2018, review of Little Blue Truck’s Springtime: A Lift-the-Flap Book; July 15, 2019, review of Good Night, Little Blue Truck; February 15, 2021, review of Little Blue Truck’s Valentine; June 1, 2021, review of Time for School, Little Blue Truck; February 15, 2021, review of Little Blue Truck’s Valentine; July 1, 2022, review of Little Blue Truck Makes a Friend; February 15, 2025, review of Little Blue Truck and Racer Red.
New York Times Book Review, February 2, 1997, review of Keepers, p. 18.
Publishers Weekly, January 16, 1981, review of The April Fool, p. 80; June 27, 1986, review of That Olive!, p. 85; January 16, 1987, review of Jeremy Bean’s St. Patrick’s Day, p. 73; July 10, 1987, review of Bill and the Google-Eyed Goblins, p. 68; May 19, 1989, review of William and Grandpa, p. 82; June 28, 1991, review of Witch Hazel, p. 101; September 5, 1994, review of How Now, Brown Cow?, pp. 110-111; March 15, 1999, review of I Am the Cat, p. 59; May 10, 1999, review of A Lucky Thing, p. 68; September 18, 2000, review of Down the Road, p. 113; October 21, 2002, review of All You Need for a Snowman, p. 73; April 21, 2003, review of Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, pp. 64-65; August 4, 2003, review of The Skeleton in the Closet, p. 80; October 4, 2004, review of One, Two, I Love You, p. 86; February 27, 2006, review of The Adventures of Old Bo Bear, p. 60; April 30, 2007, review of We, p. 160; April 28, 2008, review of Little Blue Truck, p. 137; February 9, 2009, review of Button Up!, p. 48; September 1, 2014, review of Little Blue Truck’s Christmas; December 15, 2014, review of Such a Little Mouse; July 20, 2016, review of Little Blue Truck’s Halloween.
Reading Teacher, December 1, 1997, review of Keepers, p. 330.
School Library Journal, August 1, 1980, Diane Meyer, review of Cathy and Company and the Nosy Neighbor, p. 70; October 1, 1981, Patt Hays, review of The April Fool, p. 135; October 1, 1982, review of Hob Goblin and the Skeleton, p. 145; May 1, 1983, review of In My Treehouse, p. 66; May 1, 1984, Diane S. Rogoff, review of Bim Dooley Makes His Move, pp. 71-72; October 1, 1985, Ginny Caine Cooper, review of Goodnight, Hattie, My Dearie, My Dove, p. 162; November 1, 1985, Joan McGrath, review of My Two Feet, p. 77; August 1, 1986, Lucy Young Clem, review of That Olive!, p. 87; October 1, 1987, David Gale, review of Jeremy Bean’s St. Patrick’s Day, p. 118; January 1, 1988, Pamela Miller Ness, review of Bill and the Google-Eyed Goblins, p. 70; March 1, 1989, Sally R. Dow, review of Gus Wanders Off, p. 170; August 1, 1989, Carolyn Caywood, review of William and Grandpa, p. 132; January 1, 1991, Carolyn Vang Schuler, review of That’s What I Thought, p. 80; September 1, 1991, Ruth K. MacDonald, review of Witch Hazel, p. 240; July 1, 1992, Joy Fleishhacker, review of Little Frog’s Song, p. 64; April 1, 1995, Jane Gardner Connor, review of Maisie, p. 116, and Sue Norris, review of How Now, Brown Cow?, p. 129; September 1, 1995, Ellen Donohue Warwick, review of Advice for a Frog, and Other Poems, p. 197; April 1, 1996, Vanessa Elder, review of Down the Road, pp. 117-18; December 1, 1996, Kathleen Whalin, review of Keepers, p. 117; June 1, 1999, Joan Zaleski, review of A Lucky Thing, and Margaret Bush, review of I Am the Cat, both p. 120; June 1, 2002, Heather E. Miller, review of Goodnight, Hattie, My Dearie, My Dove, p. 110; December 1, 2002, Martha Topol, review of All You Need for a Snowman, p. 108; July 1, 2003, Lee Bock, review of Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, p. 19, Maryann H. Owen, review of When the Moon Is High, p. 106, and Ann Welton, review of ¡Pío Peep!, p. 121; September 1, 2003, Gay Lynn Van Vleck, review of The Skeleton in the Closet, p. 190; January 1, 2005, Jane Barrer, review of One, Two, I Love You, p. 97; February 1, 2006, Marge Loch-Wouters, review of The Adventures of Old Bo Bear, p. 109; May 1, 2007, Marianne Saccardi, review of We, p. 124; December 1, 2007, Wendy Lukehart, review of Very Hairy Bear, p. 99; July 1, 2008, Rachael Vilmar, review of Little Blue Truck, p. 81; May 1, 2009, Julie Roach, review of Button Up!, p. 98; August 1, 2009, Carrie Rogers-Whitehead, review of Look Out, Jeremy Bean!, p. 84; October 1, 2009, Grace Oliff, reviews of Little Blue Truck Leads the Way and An Anaconda Ate My Homework!, both p. 104; October 1, 2014, Anne Connor, review of Little Blue Truck’s Christmas, p. 68; December 1, 2014, Heidi Estrin, review of Such a Little Mouse, p. 111; February 1, 2018, Deanna Smith, review of Little Blue Truck’s Springtime, p. 53; August 1, 2021, Sarah Webb, review of Time for School, Little Blue Truck, p. 62.
ONLINE
Alice Schertle website, https://aliceschertle.com (September 1, 2025).
Chickadee Lit, http://www.chickadeelit.com/ (October 9, 2016), review of Little Blue Truck’s Halloween.
Children’s Literature Network, http://www.childrensliteraturenetwork.org/ (July 15, 2011), “Alice Schertle.”
Lee & Low website, http://www.leeandlow.com/ (July 15, 2011), “Alice Schertle.”
Little Blue Truck website, https://www.littlebluetruckbooks.com/ (September 1, 2025), author profile.
Poetry Foundation website, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/ (September 20, 2019), author profile.
Teaching PreK-8, http://www.teachingk-8.com/ (August 15, 2008), Lee Bennett Hopkins, author profile.
Alice Schertle is an award-winning poet whose books for children include All You Need for a Snowman and the New York Times bestselling Good Night, Little Blue Truck. She lives in Plainfield, MA.
The Little Blue Truck series, written by Alice Schertle and illustrated by her close friend Jill McElmurry, has charmed readers with its delightful stories and captivating illustrations. Jill McElmurry, who also created Mad About Plaid, passed away in 2017. Following her passing, the books began listing both Alice and Jill without specific credits, honoring their collaborative work and acknowledging Jill’s lasting contribution to the series.
Alice Schertle
Alice Schertle is a poet and author of many well-loved books for children, including the beloved, #1 New York Times best-selling Little Blue Truck series,Very Hairy Bear, Button Up!, and All You Need for a Snowman. She lives in Plainfield, Massachusetts.
Alice Schertle
Article
Talk
Read
Edit
View history
Tools
Appearance hide
Text
Small
Standard
Large
Width
Standard
Wide
Color (beta)
Automatic
Light
Dark
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Alice Schertle
Born 1941 (age 83–84)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation Author
Genre Children's picture books
Website
www.aliceschertle.com
Alice Schertle (born 1941) is an American poet, teacher, and author from Los Angeles.[1] She is known as the author of numerous children's books, most notably the New York Times best-selling Little Blue Truck series.[2]
Career
Schertle worked for a time as an elementary school teacher. As a children's book author, her works "explore themes of nature and language, often with playful use of rhyme."[3]
Schertle has also published several collections of poetry.
She has won a number of honors, including the 2010 Lee Bennett Hopkins Poetry Award and the Christopher Award.[3]
Little Blue Truck
Schertle collaborated with illustrator Jill McElmurry to create Little Blue Truck, a friendly pick-up truck with a variety of animal friends. The first book, Little Blue Truck, was published in 2008. A starred review in Publishers Weekly noted that Shertle's "rhyming stanzas are succinct, and she gives readers plenty of opportunities to chime in with animal and vehicle noises."[4]
After McElmurry's death in 2017, her estate gave permission for others to continue the books in her style. For instance, Good Night, Little Blue Truck (2019) lists Schertle's and McElmurry's names on the front cover, while text inside the book notes that it is "Illustrated by John Joseph in the style of Jill McElmurry."[5]
Personal life
Schertle was born in 1941 in Los Angeles, California. She attended the University of Southern California and the University of California, Los Angeles.[3]
Works
The Little Blue Truck series
Illustrated by Jill McElmurry
Little Blue Truck (2008)
Little Blue Truck Leads the Way (2009)
Little Blue Truck's Christmas (2014)
Little Blue Truck's Halloween (2016)
Little Blue Truck's Springtime (2018)
Good Night, Little Blue Truck (2019)
Little Blue Truck's Valentine (2020)
Time for School, Little Blue Truck (2021)
Little Blue Truck Makes a Friend (2022)
The All You Need... series
Illustrated by Barbara Lavallee
All You Need for a Snowman
All You Need for a Beach
The Jeremy Bean series
Look Out, Jeremy Bean!
Jeremy Bean's St. Patrick's Day
Other titles
The April Fool (1981)
William and Grandpa (1989), illustrated by Lydia Dabcovich
How Now, Brown Cow? (1994), illustrated by Amanda Schaffer
Advice for a Frog (1995)
Keepers (1996)
I Am the Cat (1999), illustrated by Mark Buehner
Down the Road (2000), illustrated by E. B. Lewis
When the Moon is High (2003)
1, 2, I Love You (2004), illustrated by Emily Arnold McCully
We (2007) illustrated by Kenneth Addison
Very Hairy Bear (2007), illustrated by Matt Phelan
Button Up! (2009), illustrated by Petra Mathers
Such a Little Mouse (2015), illustrated by Stephanie Yue
¡Pío Peep! Traditional Spanish Nursery Rhymes (2019) – English adaptations of selections by Alma Flor Ada and Isabel Campoy
Cathy and Company series (with Cathy Pavia)
The Skeleton in the Closet (illustrated by Curtis Jobling)
Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear (illustrated by Linda Hill Griffith)
A Lucky Thing (illustrated by Wendell Minor)
An Anaconda Ate My Homework! (illustrated by Aaron Renier)
Good Night, Hattie, My Dearie, My Dove
Witch Hazel (illustrated by Margot Tomes)
The Adventures of Old Bo Bear (illustrated by David Parkins)
Maisie (illustrated by Lydia Dabcovich)
Bill and the Google-Eyed Goblins (illustrated by Patricia Coombs)
That Olive! (illustrated by Cindy Wheeler)
Schertle, Alice LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S VALENTINE HMH Books (Children's None) $13.99 12, 8 ISBN: 978-0-358-27244-1
Little Blue Truck feels, well, blue when he delivers valentine after valentine but receives nary a one.
His bed overflowing with cards, Blue sets out to deliver a yellow card with purple polka dots and a shiny purple heart to Hen, one with a shiny fuchsia heart to Pig, a big, shiny, red heart-shaped card to Horse, and so on. With each delivery there is an exchange of Beeps from Blue and the appropriate animal sounds from his friends, Blue’s Beeps always set in blue and the animal’s vocalization in a color that matches the card it receives. But as Blue heads home, his deliveries complete, his headlight eyes are sad and his front bumper droops ever so slightly. Blue is therefore surprised (but readers may not be) when he pulls into his garage to be greeted by all his friends with a shiny blue valentine just for him. In this, Blue’s seventh outing, it’s not just the sturdy protagonist that seems to be wilting. Schertle’s verse, usually reliable, stumbles more than once; stanzas such as “But Valentine’s Day / didn’t seem much fun / when he didn’t get cards / from anyone” will cause hitches during read-alouds. The illustrations, done by Joseph in the style of original series collaborator Jill McElmurry, are pleasant enough, but his compositions often feel stiff and forced.
Little Blue Truck keeps on truckin’—but not without some backfires. (Board book. 1-4)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Schertle, Alice: LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S VALENTINE." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Feb. 2021. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A651594796/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=2ff6d382. Accessed 9 Aug. 2025.
Time for School, Little Blue Truck. By Alice Schertle. Illus. by Jill McElmurry. June 2021. 32p. HMH, $18.99 (9780358412243). PreS-Gr. 1.
Captivated by the sight of a big yellow school bus, Little Blue Truck immediately wishes he had the important job of carrying pupils (an assortment of young farm animals) to school each day. But as the friendly bus points out to him, she has lots of seats, windows, and space for passengers. Driving a little farther, the lit tle truck sees a piglet in tears after missing the bus. "Beep! Beep! Don't cry, / Said Little Blue / Climb in. Let's see / What I can do." After a bumpy shortcut through the woods and across the stream, they arrive at school just before the bus. And everyone cheers, "Good job, Blue!" Written in bouncy couplets that read aloud well, the simple story creates a bit of tension, which will make the school bus' final acknowledgment of Blue's achievement all the more satisfying for young children. The illustrations, created with rounded forms and rich colors, reflect the story's cheerful tone. The latest volume in a popular series, this picture book will brighten any back-to-school display.--Carolyn Phelan
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Phelan, Carolyn. "Time for School, Little Blue Truck." Booklist, vol. 117, no. 17, 1 May 2021, p. 52. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A662304658/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=5e049f65. Accessed 9 Aug. 2025.
SCHERTLE, Alice. Time for School, Little Blue Truck. illus. by Jill McElmurry & John Joseph. 32p. (Little Blue Truck). Clarion Jun. 2021. Tr $18.99. ISBN 9780358412243.
PreS-Gr 1--Little Blue Truck sees the yellow school bus and wishes that he could drive the farm animals to school. The bus reminds him that although he is a tough little truck and very friendly, he is not built for the job; the bus is long and shiny and has lots of seats and windows. Dejectedly Blue trundles off in the other direction, when he sees Piggy at the side of the road--Piggy has overslept and missed the bus. The determined Little Blue Truck will get Piggy to school on time, and he knows a shortcut through the woods. Young readers will cheer for the eager little truck as he barrels through the forest, going where the big school bus can't venture; through streams and over bumpy terrain and along narrow paths. Preschoolers will have a blast anticipating the sounds of the domesticated animals, "Little goat said, "Maaa!" Little horse said, "Neigh!"" and spotting the shy denizens of the forest. Soft gouache paintings of farmland and woods lend an old-fashioned 1940s feel to the story. (The title page notes that Joseph has illustrated the book in the style of the late Jill McElmurry.) Schertle's rhyming text adds a delightful pacing and rhythm that matches the images; a frog leaping out of the way as Blue splashes through the water. VERDICT A charming tale of an endearing little truck on a mission. Perfect for story times.--Sarah Webb, City and Country Sch. Lib., NY
KEY: * Excellent in relation to other titles on the same subject or in the same genre | Tr Hardcover trade binding | lib. ed. Publisher's library binding | Board Board book | pap. Paperback | e eBook original | BL Bilingual | POP Popular Picks
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2021 A wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
Webb, Sarah. "SCHERTLE, Alice. Time for School, Little Blue Truck." School Library Journal, vol. 67, no. 8, Aug. 2021, p. 62. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A670397890/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=840e7fbb. Accessed 9 Aug. 2025.
Schertle, Alice LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND Clarion/HarperCollins (Children's None) $18.99 9, 6 ISBN: 978-0-358-72282-3
Little Blue Truck and his amphibious sidekick persuade the local animals that they need not fear a newly arrived animal on the local scene.
As Little Blue Truck and Toad meander through colorful, stylized, bucolic countryside, they are stopped by Hen, wings flapping and feathers a-flying: "Someone moved in / down the road-- / someone different, / Blue and Toad!" The rest of the story uses similar rhyme and rhythm, but, unfortunately, not all verses scan as easily. Toad at the wheel, Blue parks and listens to several barnyard animals relate the ways that the newcomer is different from each of them. Blue cheerfully asks, "What's all the fuss?" and insists that the animals pile into the back so they can all confront the newcomer together. When they arrive at a door in the earth marked "Woodchuck's House," Hen scoffs at the idea of life in a hole, but the ever positive Blue notes that the home seems cozy. The funniest part of the book consists of two double-page spreads in which the animals, panicked by the woodchuck's shadow, attempt to hide. True to the series, Blue and Toad are positive role models as they treat the woodchuck, named Chuck, with respect and kindness. Chuck's admission of shyness is a nice touch. The obvious lesson is enshrined in the fun of rhyming language and childlike animals. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Sweet and silly. (Picture book. 3-6)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2022 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Schertle, Alice: LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND." Kirkus Reviews, 1 July 2022. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A708487012/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=a584c798. Accessed 9 Aug. 2025.
Schertle, Alice LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED Clarion/HarperCollins (Children's None) $19.99 3, 25 ISBN: 9780063387843
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off "hood to hood / and wheel to wheel," they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue's farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That's a new concept for Racer Red, who's laser-focused on victory but takes Blue's words ("win or lose, it's fun to try!") to heart--a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue's farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. "Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you're / with friends."
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.(Picture book. 4-7)
Copyright: COPYRIGHT 2025 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Source Citation
Source Citation
MLA 9th Edition APA 7th Edition Chicago 17th Edition Harvard
"Schertle, Alice: LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED." Kirkus Reviews, 15 Feb. 2025. Gale General OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A827100985/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=bookmark-ITOF&xid=9cb93b54. Accessed 9 Aug. 2025.