Food Truck Fest! by Alexandra Penfold, Mike Dutton
on March 13th 2018
ISBN: 0374303185
Pages: 40
Goodreads

A day in the life of a food truck at a festival! This original topic is described in rhyming couplets from early morning until the day is done.

Full color illustrations by Mike Dutton alternate between the trucks and a family preparing to attend. Some pages seem to be talking to the food truck owners, other pages are directed to people going to the fest. The endpapers are a visual treat of bold black and white images of related words, foods, and a few trucks.

Other than a small band playing, there doesn’t seem to be any other particular purpose for the festival. However, the anticipation and excitement are built through the text with phrases like, “Everybody’s going to the food truck fest!”  A little suspense is presented when the bridge is blocked, and trucks have to take the ferry across the rough river.

Preschoolers might like to compare the types of food sold by various trucks, or compare their own experiences with the uniqueness of eating from a food truck. This would be fun to read aloud and have children supply some of the predictable rhyming words. Early elementary students might create their own “food truck’ based on an international unit – what would be served and what would the food truck be named.

Reviewed by Lynn Mayer, Librarian, Old Town Elementary School, Old Town