Children’s Books About
Cars, Trucks and
Construction
Picture Books in the J-E Section
Chuck's Truck by Peggy Perry Anderson (J-E- ANDERSON)
When too many barnyard friends climb in to go to town, Chuck’s truck
breaks down, but Handyman Hugh knows just what to do.
My Car by Byron Barton (J-E BARTON)
Sam describes in loving detail his car and how he drives it.
(Also available as a Board Book)
Five Little Monkeys Wash the Car (J-E CHRISTELOW)
by Eileen Christelow
Five little monkeys wash the family car before trying to sell it, but that is
only the beginning of their adventures with the old heap.
Drive by Nathan Clement (J-E CLEMENT)
In brief text with illustrations, a boy describes his father's work as a
truck driver.
Truck by Donald Crews (J-E CREWS)
Follows the journey of a truck from loading to unloading.
The Two Cars by Ingri & Edgar Parin d'Aulaire (J-E D'AULAIRE)
On a magic moonlit night, the sleek, shiny automatic new car and the
beat-up old car with many miles on its speedometer go for a drive to
see which car is the best.
Crazy Cars: for Crazy Kids by Mark David (J-E DAVID)
Presents zany cars for different purposes, including the Fido
PoochCruiser, an automobile that controls feeding, exercise, rest, and
leisure for dogs, and the Windster, an automobile that thrives on wind.
The Racecar Alphabet by Brian Floca (J-E FLOCA)
An exciting day at the races highlights the letters of the alphabet as a
variety of automobiles burn fuel speeding through the curves of the
track.
Cool Cars by Tony Mitton (J-E MITTON)
From luxury limousines to speedy sports cars, a wide variety of
automobiles are featured through rhyming text and bold
illustrations paired with a picture dictionary which identifies car
parts to make learning about cars even more fun.
Tough Trucks by Tony Mitton (J-E MITTON)
Rhyming text describes a variety of trucks.
Rattletrap Car by Phyllis Root (J-E ROOT)
Various disasters threaten to stop Poppa and the children from
getting to the lake in their rattletrap car, but they manage to
come up with an ingenious solution to each problem.
Richard Scarry's Cars and Trucks and Things Go
by Richard Scarry (J-E SCARRY)
Depicts a variety of cars and other vehicles and their functions.
Little Blue Truck by Alice Schertle (J-E SCHERTLE)
A small blue truck finds his way out of a jam, with a little help
from his friends.
Smash! Crash! by Jon Scieszka (J-E SCIESZKA)
Getting dirty and being loud are what is expected of Jack Truck
and Dump Truck Dan as they set out to do the jobs they were
meant to do and have some fun along the way in Trucktown.
Melvin Might? by Jon Scieszka (J-E SCIESZKA)
Melvin, a cautious cement mixer, worries that he cannot keep
up with the other trucks, but when Rita needs help, he
overcomes his fear in order to help her.
Trucks, Trucks, Trucks by Peter Sis (J-E SIS)
A little boy cleans up his room using a variety of trucks and
gives a one-word description of their work, such as hauling,
plowing, and loading. (Also available as a Board Book)
My Little Car = Mi Carrito by Gary Soto (J-E SOTO)
Teresa loves to show off her shiny, new, pedal-powered lowrider car from Grandpa, but the toy soon looks old when she
neglects it.
Dinotrux by Chris Gall (J-E GALL)
Millions of years ago, the prehistoric ancestors of today's trucks, such
as garbageadon, dozeratops, and craneosaurus, roamed the Earth
until they rusted out and became extinct.
The Life of a Car by Susan Steggal (J-E STEGGAL)
Talks about the life of a car from when it leaves the production
line, to being sold, driven, cleaned, crashed, mended, scrapped,
and recycled, and looks at an assortment of tow trucks,
transporters, and lifting machines.
Tip Tip Dig Dig by Emma Garcia (J-E GARCIA)
Describes how various earthmoving trucks clean up a dump and make
a playground, discussing what such machines as diggers, mixers,
bulldozers, and cranes can do.
I Love Trucks! by Philemon Sturges (J-E STURGES)
A child names many of his favorite trucks and each one's most
notable characteristic. (Also available as a Board Book)
Toot Toot Beep Beep by Emma Garcia (J-E GARCIA)
As youngsters toot, beep, vroom and whoosh along with the many
colored vehicles in this noisy story, each car eventually finds its
parking space and settles down for the night
NASCAR ABCs by Paul DuBois Jacobs (J-E JACOBS)
Young NASCAR fans can discover the ins and outs of stock-car racing
with this fun alphabet primer that uses car terminology, race-day lingo,
and exciting illustrations to introduce young readers to the thrills of the
race and reading.
Machines Go to Work by William Low (J-E LOW)
Interactive gatefolds, lift-the-flap pages, and detailed illustrations
provide young readers with an up-close look at big machines and the
special jobs they were made to do, including cement mixers, fire trucks,
helicopters, and bulldozers.
I'm Dirty! by Kate & Jim McMullan (J-E McMULLAN)
A busy backhoe loader describes all the items it hauls off a lot and all
the fun it has getting dirty while doing so.
I Stink! by Kate & Jim McMullan (J-E McMULLAN)A big city garbage
truck makes its rounds, consuming everything from apple cores and
banana peels to leftover ziti with zucchini.
Roadwork by Sally Sutton (J-E SUTTON)
Big machines and their drivers work together to build a road.
If I Built a Car by Chris Van Dusen (J-E VAN DUSEN)
Jack describes the kind of car he would build--one with
amazing accessories and with the capability of traveling on
land, in the air, and on and under the sea.
Truck Driver Tom by Monica Wellington (J-E WELLINGTON)
The driver of a tractor-trailer picks up a load of fresh fruits and
vegetables, then drives through the countryside, past small
towns, and into the big city, passing farms, construction sites,
and many other vehicles, then delivers the produce and relaxes
with other drivers.
Dig! by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha
(J-E ZIMMERMAN) Follows Mr. Rally and his dog, Lightning,
as they travel the town on a big yellow digging machine, taking
care of five important jobs.
Digger Man by Andrea Zimmerman
and David Clemesha (J-E ZIMMERMAN)
A young boy imagines how he will use his digger to make a
park where he and his little brother can play.
Board Books
Machines at Work by Byron Barton (J-E BARTON)
Depicts a busy day at the construction site, as the workers use a
variety of machines to knock down a building and begin constructing a
new one.
My Car by Byron Barton
(Also available in picture book. See above)
Trucks by Byron Barton (J-E BARTON)
Brief text and illustrations present a variety of trucks and what they do.
I Love Trucks! by Philemon Sturges (J-E STURGES)
(Also available as a Picture Book. See above)
Can You See What I See? : Trucks & Cars
by Walter Wick (J-E WICK)
Young readers are asked to find different kinds of vehicles in the
photographs.
Chapter Books
J FIC Fleming
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang by Ian Fleming
Two children persuade their inventor father to purchase and restore an
old car which turns out to have magical powers.
Easy Readers
Truck Trouble by Angela Royston
Describes a truck driver's rig and some of the problems he encounters
as he picks up and delivers his cargo. (J-E ROYSTON)
Titles in Jon Scieszka’s Trucktown Series:
(J-E SCIESZKA)
Melvin's Valentine
Pete's Party
Snow Trucking!
The Spooky Tire
Trucks Line Up
Uh-oh, Max
Zoom! Boom! Bully
Non-fiction Books
J 388.34 L
Everything I Know about Cars: A Collection of Made-up Facts,
Educated Guesses, and Silly Pictures about Cars, Trucks, and
Other Zoomy Things by Tom Lichtenheld
Clarifies the mysteries behind every aspect of automotive history
through a collection of imaginary facts and uneducated guesses about
motor vehicles.
J 629.22 R
Trucks by Anne Rockwell
Introduces a variety of trucks and their purposes. Includes
moving vans, tow trucks, bookmobiles, and campers.
J 629.22 S
Car by Richard Sutton
A photo essay about the history, development, and impact of
automobiles from horseless carriages and Model T Fords to
modern high-performance racing cars; featuring detailed
cutaway photos showing how the moving parts of a car work.
(An “Eyewitness Book”)
Classic Cars: 1931-1980 by Norm Mort
Introduces classic cars and automobiles that stand out from
contemporary models due to their outstanding performance or
styling.
J 629.222 S
Cool Cars by Seymour Simon
Presents facts and photographs of all kinds of cars, from one of
the first automobiles ever built to the popular VW Beetle to a
luxury Rolls Royce to the Thrust SSC, the fastest car in the
world.
J 629.224 M
The Truck Book by Harry McNaught
Shows the many different types of trucks and describes the
work that they do.
J 629.224 R
Delivery Trucks by Adele D. Richardson
Describes early models, major parts, and the workings of
delivery trucks.
J 629.224 S
Seymour Simon’s Book of Trucks
by Seymour Simon
Describes various kinds of trucks and their functions, including
a log truck, cement mixer truck, and sanitation truck.
J 796.7 G
Monster Trucks! by Susan E. Goodman
Describes monster trucks.
J 796.72 E
Hottest Race Cars by Erin Egan
Read about open-wheel race cars, the drivers, and the races
they compete in, such as Formula One, the Indy Racing
League, and the Champ series.
J 628.46 M
The Mighty Street Sweeper by Patrick H. Moore
Colorful illustrations and an engaging compare-and-contrast text make
this picture book a delight for budding truck-lovers.
J 629.04 F
Fasten your seat belt : mind-boggling machines by David Kimber,
Bill Gunston, Jeff Painter, and Steve Parker.
This book is packed with awesome facts and mind-blowing statistics
about the fastest, slickest, and most amazing machines known to man.
J 629.22 M
Trucks : pickups to big rigs by Adrianna Morganelli
Looks at different types of trucks, how they are built, and how they are
used.
J 629.22 O
Construction Countdown by K.C. Olson
Introduces numbers and subtraction as the reader counts construction
equipment from ten to one.
Central Library,
Youth Wing
718-230-2117
05/2012