Growing Book by Book participated in a summer book exchange hosted by The Educators’ Spin On It. Twenty different bloggers exchanged a children’s book and follow-up activity with a partner. Our partner was The New Vincent Family. So, what book did we get? Take a look…
Little Blue Truck by Alice Schetle and Jill McElmurry has been a favorite of my 19 month old now for the past two months. And, I have to admit, it’s probably my favorite one to read to him too. Little Blue travels through the country saying, “Beep, Beep, Beep,” to all the animals that greet him. Then along comes a not so friendly dump truck which gets stuck in the mud. As he cries, “Honk,” for help, the animals ignore the plea. When Little Blue comes along and tries to help, he gets stuck too. As he calls, “Beep, Beep, Beep,” the animals come to help push him and the dump truck out of the muck. Dump truck learns an important lesson about being nice and having friends to help you out of tough spots. The book ends with Little Blue taking all the animals back home.
I love the message of kindness in this book. It has great rhythm which makes reading it aloud so fun. Since my son is really into animal sounds, it fits the bill in that department too.
The New Vincent Family sent us a 2 pictures of a blue truck, an empty cereal box and a piece of ribbon to create our own truck to pull. We were also given an assortment of farm animals to pull in our truck.
We were able to work on identifying animals and imitating their sounds during this activity. The New Vincent Family also suggested that we could work on color words since the text of what each animal says in the story is a different color.
It’s great to have another copy of this book, since our original is getting a little worn. We are also excited to check out the newer Little Blue Truck Leads the Way.
Thank you to The New Vincent Family for the fun package. And, thank you to The Educators’ Spin On It for hosting such a great project.
Have you ever participated in a book exchange? If so, what book(s) did you send or receive? We are always looking for ideas for next time!
Stay tuned to see what Growing Book by Book sent The New Vincent Family and for an opportunity to receive a special care package sent to your house from Growing Book by Book!
Kim @ The Educators' Spin On It says
I’m so excited to find two new books to check out! What a cute activity to go with it as well. Thanks Brittancy and Jodie for sharing your experience with the LOVE BOOKS Summer Exchange. That’s so neat that you’re creating a special package for one lucky reader! Can’t wait to see what else everyone shares! Don’t forget to link up to our LOVE BOOKS page, a resource for Parents of Books and Activities http://www.theeducatorsspinonit.blogspot.com/p/love-books.html
The Monko says
we love this book. Goblin got it from his granny and its a perfect length for his concentration span -and obviously the trucks help too.
Gabrielle says
A family friend gave our son Little Blue Truck for his second birthday and it is one of our favorite books! It’s one of the few that I honestly don’t mind rereading every single night and the illustrations are so fun. Little Blue Truck is one of our literary friends, much like Peter Rabbit or Corduroy. I can’t wait to give him Little Blue Truck Leads The Way!
Jodie says
Yes, I’m excited to get the other Little Blue book also. Thanks for commenting.
The Vincent Family says
sorry it was a book y’all already had! I figured it would be pretty impossible to find one you didn’t though. Hope your little fella had fun with the animals!
Jodie says
Oh, it’s no problem. It’s always nice to have multiple copies of a favorite. Thanks for sending the package.