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Reviewed by:
  • Digger, Dozer, Dumper by Hope Vestergaard
  • Elizabeth Bush
Vestergaard, Hope . Digger, Dozer, Dumper; illus. by David Slonim. Candlewick, 2013. 32p. ISBN 978-0-7636-5078-0 $15.99 R 4-8 yrs.

Muddy wheels, hefty loads, thrumming engines, and automotive grunt work inspire Vestergaard's poetic paeans, praising the humble hard work and civic contributions of sixteen awesomely loud and impressively tough trucks. Although Slonim's perky accompanying cartoon illustrations play to a younger crowd, Vestergaard's careful wordsmithery, precise terminology, and sly humor assure that the poems themselves will be appreciated by even more sophisticated listeners. Listen for the internal rhyme in "Street Sweeper": "Early morning, empty streets,/ His whir disturbs the hush." Chuckle at the playful "Excavator": "Too big? She'll fill that hole./ Big rocks? She'll make them roll./ Her name? The excavator./ Her job? Smooth operator." Consider the roiling imagery of "Cement Mixer": "Around/ and around/ and around it goes—/ his iron belly's churning." Vestergaard changes up her rhyme and meter enough to keeps things interesting, and the scansion is reliable enough to coax even poetry-shy adults into trying a read aloud. Newly independent readers [End Page 121] might want to step up to the mic, too, and share in the fun of a high-energy, clanging and banging poetry performance.

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