Get your engines ready for a look at three new titles in Sherri Duskey Rinker and AG Ford’s (Three Cheers for Kid McGear!) bestselling Construction Site series! Thanks to kinds friends at Raincoast Books, I have the pleasure of talking about: the picture book Construction Site: Road Crew, Coming Through!; the board book Construction Site: Merry and Bright (A Christmas Lift-the-Flap Book); and the board book Construction Site: You’re Just Right (A Valentine Lift-the-Flap Book). Happy reading, all!

“Rumbling, revving, shaking ground, all the trucks now gather ’round. They’ll make a route from here…to there with careful planning, thought, and care. The team will build it, load by load: A SUPERHIGHWAY, MEGA ROAD!”. In Sherri Duskey Rinker and AG Ford’s latest picture book, Construction Site: Road Crew, Coming Through!, the can-do, hardworking construction team meet up with a ”big road-building crew” for a ”giant job”: building a superhighway! With road crew friends like Scraper, Paver, and Water Truck joining Construction Site stalwarts like Dump Truck, Excavator, and Skid Steer, the teams join forces to get this big job done. Not just an absolute treat- visually and vocabulary-wise- for readers who simply cannot get enough construction and vehicle stories, Road Crew, Coming Through! is also a story packed with informational highlights showing a project start to finish. By following each construction and road crew member and showcasing their respective jobs, readers are invited to see the major steps involved in a big highway project. While the rhyming text runs on the longer side (it is text-heavy, especially if considering this for preschool and younger audience read aloud), Road Crew, Coming Through! is an all-around fantastic story. Duskey Rinker’s storytelling- bustling rhyming text, focused on teamwork, positivity, movement, and construction excitement- is as delightful as ever; and AG Ford’s illustrations are a dream- clean, vivid, and supremely appealing- just what readers have come to love so much (and immediately recognize) about the series! Readers who have loved previous titles in this series, or who enjoy books such as Little Blue Truck Leads the Way, Little Excavator, Smashy Town, or Sally Dutton and Brian Lovelock’s Roadwork, might especially adore Construction Site: Road Crew, Coming Through!. Back matter includes information for readers regarding the importance of wildlife crossings in road building.

If you are looking for sturdy and/or seasonal Construction Site board books (or just have a reader who loves anything construction!), then look no further than the adorably warmhearted Construction Site: Merry and Bright, and Construction Site: You’re Just Right. Construction Site: Merry and Bright is a Christmas lift-the-flap board book starring favourite friends from the construction crew. With bouncy, fun rhymes and “tough truck friends”, every spread features a lift-the-flap element which reveals a festive surprise from one of the crew. Christmas cheer (and sweet holiday surprises in the illustrations!) builds from page to page, leading readers to a terrifically satisfying and happy fold out. My three year old just beams when I read the story to him: he cannot get enough of this story for bedtime reading, especially as December is just around the corner! Construction Site: You’re Just Right is another lovely seasonal read featuring the construction crew friends as they celebrate each other on Valentine’s Day. The rhyming story follows one truck from page to page as they are surprised with an endearing, admiring, and positive note dedicated to them. Each Valentine’s note- constructed as the lift-the-flaps!- holds a clue about who might have left the note, leaving the reader to guess- and the reveal following on the next page. You’re Just Right has an extra sweet Valentine’s surprise for the story’s last lift-the-flap: something that will undoubtedly delight little readers! As ever, AG Ford’s wax oil crayons artwork are so visually appealing, saturated, bright, and impossible to resist; and Duskey Rinker’s rolling, nimble rhymes make for an active and sweet read aloud. Two new Construction Site board books here that make for terrific seasonal reading!

Construction Site series note: Illustrator Tom Lichtenheld and author Sherri Duskey Rinker collaborated on the bestselling first series entry, Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site, and other early series entries; illustrator Ethan Long is a series contributor as well for multiple board books!

I received copies of these titles courtesy of Raincoast Books in exchange for honest reviews. All opinions and comments are my own. Construction Site: You’re Just Right is set to publish on December 28, 2021 by Chronicle Books. Other titles have been published and are currently available.