HOPE IS THE THING WITH FLOWERS

It's a busy, busy, busy at the construction site. Dozer, Crane, and Digger are pushing, hoisting, and digging to build tall buildings for working, roads for driving, and bridges for crossing. One day Digger comes across a small, blue flower growing amidst all the construction. As the other construction vehicles keep building up the city, Digger visits the flower each day to nurture it's growth. Soon, the space where the lone little flower is growing is the only place that's not built up, and the Crane insists that they need to put a building there too. Will Digger be able to stop them, and if not, what will become of the last little flower in the city? 

The Digger and the Flower, simply yet poignantly written and illustrated by Joseph Kuefler, is a deceptively quiet picture book that packs a huge emotional punch. Just when things seem devastating, hope peeks through the darkness, and we readers are reminded of the triumph and resilience of the human spirit. Have your tissues handy, parents, because this book might make you cry--first from sadness, but then ultimately from the beauty of hope. 

This is not your typical construction vehicle book--it's a deeply touching read to share with preschoolers through second graders. 

OUT OF THE WAY!

Sam comes to the construction site everyday to watch the workers at the construction site but on this particular day some older boys dare him to go inside the site itself.  To their horror, Sam begins to  behave unexpectedly.  He takes their dare and drives off in the cement mixer and then pour wet concrete all over the road.  He behaves in more seemingly crazy ways for a little boy.  Scared that they have egged Sam on and are in a heap of trouble, the boys run after him, but the chaos just continues.  

But Sam is observant and clever and his actions are very logical and reasonable.  Find out what Sam is up to as he drives different types of construction vehicles in this madcap romp through the city.
There's humor, tension and action for everyone who enjoy cars, construction and a good story in Sam and the Construction Site by Tjibbe Veldkamp and Alice Hoogstad.  

For preschool through second grade.  

BUILDING A COMMUNITY

When enthusiastic Little E joins his fellow construction vehicles on a new neighborhood project, he tips and tumbles as he attempts to find a task fit for his diminutive size. Full of fun onomatopoeia and familiar big rigs that your budding construction expert will love, Little Excavator is a story about patience, acceptance, and honoring contributions big and small. This rhyming picture book for toddlers and preschoolers was written and illustrated by the late Anna Dewdney (1965-2016), who was best known for her Llama Llama series.

I read Little Excavator with a fluttering enjoyment and a sorrowful pang, knowing that this is Dewdney’s final fully completed work. More stories born of her ideas and sketches will be published in coming years, but she will never see them to completion. Little Excavator is small, but eager to contribute. In the end, what they’ve built together is a park: a community space for children and families to play in, to grow in, and to love. It’s a fitting metaphor for Anna Dewdney’s work as a whole: that which nurtured, guided, and grew a community of readers.

Ages 2+

THE TOUGHEST JOB OF ALL

As Bulldozer watches all his fellow construction vehicles working away--stirring, lifting, scooping--he wonders how he can help too. Bulldozer is eager to find his calling and help the others accordingly, but the other trucks tell him building skyscrapers is only a job for rough, tough trucks. So when they do find a suitable job for Bulldozer, they are perplexed to find him sitting still, not flattening the pile they asked him to clear. Why won't Bulldozer just help out and do his job? 

Bulldozer Helps Out by Candace Flemming, illustrated by Caldecott-winning artist Eric Rohmann, is definitely not your average construction vehicle book (though it will certainly please that crowd too!). It also offers a heartwarming and adorable twist that shows how toughness takes many forms, not just might and muscle, and that everyone has their own purpose to serve--they just have to find it.

With delightfully bright and bold art and a message that's both inspiring and cleverly told, this captivating picture book will appeal to toddlers through kindergartners, and anyone who's looking for their place to belong.

TRUCKS AT WORK

The Mixed-Up Truck, written and illustrated by Stephen Savage, tells the the story of a eager cement mixer's first day of on the job. All the other trucks are already working away at their respective tasks and the mixer just wants to know how it can help too. What seems like a simple enough instruction from the other vehicles ("Mix up some powdery white cement!") turns into a preposterous comedy of errors when our ambitious if unobservant protagonist doesn't read the signs and consequently blends a series of mistaken ingredients to entertaining effect. Will the mixed-up truck ever manage to get it right? 

The simple words are complimented by the bright and bold art, making this a perfect fit for toddlers through preschoolers, and will lay the groundwork for a riveting things-that-go or construction-themed storytime. This story also serves as an excellent introduction to print awareness, showing that words have meaning, as well as how important it is to notice the environmental print we see in the world all around us. 

To continue the truck-themed fun from Stephen Savage, be sure to check out the adventures of a snowplow who discovers his versatility in Supertruck. And, while the Central Library is closed for the duration of the renovation, please note that our branches will have expanded hours beginning Monday, September 12th.