Little Blue Truck Makes a Friend: A Friendship Book for Kids

About the Author
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.
Jill McElmurry was the illustrator of many picture books, including her own Mad About Plaid, When Otis Courted Mama by Kathi Appelt and the best-selling Little Blue Truck series, written by Alice Schertle. She happily divided her time between the wide landscape of New Mexico and a green island in Minnesota. Jill passed away in August 2017.
Welcome a new friend to the farm with the #1 New York Times bestselling Little Blue Truck!
Beep! Beep! Have you heard the news? There is someone new on the farm!
All the animals are nervous and excited about meeting a new friend—what will he be like? Does he neigh like a horse or oink like a pig? Does he have fur or feathers? Does he swim? Does he fly? Making new friends can be scary at first but being kind and helping others feel welcome is always the right move.
Luckily, Blue knows just the thing to help his friends, old and new, feel at home! Little Blue's "Beep!" was loud and clear: We are very glad you're here!
From School Library Journal
PreS-Gr 1—Perennially popular Little Blue Truck returns to welcome a new neighbor. As Blue and Toad travel along, they are met by each of their animal friends, who have concerns and questions about the animal who has just moved in. Blue takes them all to meet their new neighbor, who lives in a hill with a round door marked "Woodchuck's House." When the door opens, the animals desperately hide and watch as Blue offers Chuck a loud, "WE ARE VERY GLAD YOU'RE HERE!" Chuck expresses his thanks and reveals his shyness, and the other animals are inspired to make friends. While the story offers a lovely message on being welcoming and inclusive, there is great value in the fact that none of the animals are ridiculed or criticized for their fear of meeting their new, "different," neighbor. Blue simply models kindness. That lack of commentary offers young readers a nonintrusive normalization of these feelings without accompanying shame or guilt. This increases the book's relatability and its utility as a discussion prompt on topics ranging from making friends to creating broadly inclusive communities. Typical of this series, the rhyming couplets, animal sounds, and truck beeps make this an excellent choice for a read-aloud. While some couplets do not flow as smoothly as others, this is unlikely to bother most readers. As in more recent entries, John Joseph illustrates in series artist's McElmurry's style of friendly creatures frolicking through detailed pastoral settings. Some adults may be amused that the exterior of Woodchuck's house looks like a Hobbit hole. VERDICT A welcome addition to the Little Blue Truck canon, recommended for general purchase.—Elizabeth Lovsin