Big Trucks Getting the Job Done Together illustrated by Sergio De Giorgi

Big Trucks Getting the Job Done Together is a Touch-and-Feel Trucks book, published by Tommy Nelson, the children's imprint of the Christian publisher Thomas Nelson. It is a 12-page board book illustrated by Sergio De Giorgi.

The front cover features Tipper, the dump truck with rubber wheels to feel. The cover theme of construction is clear from the yellow and black stripes with industrial-looking screws. Tipper's jolly smile and eyes, plus bunnies and a bird keep things light and cheerful.

Inside, we meet three additional trucks, Dozer, Diggit, and Stretch the crane. Each page features easy-to-read rhyming text. Touch-and-Feel features include gritty sand (actually more of a non-shiny glitter glue, not like sand paper), more rubber wheels like the cover, reflective mirror windshields, shiny blue silver foil, shiny silver foil, and a final gritty roadway (same as the gritty sand earlier).

The text features lots of onomatopoeia: "Thud! Whomp! Crash!" Themes include helping each other, working fast, and getting the job done. The last line says, "God bless...Good night to each of you," which is the only Christian element of this book. It also doesn't rhyme with the last stanza. The animals from the cover show up on the last page, but are not mentioned in the text and are background as opposed to prominently featured.

Overall, this book had a decent variety of feels to touch and the variety of trucks was good. The rhymes were easy and fun to read, especially the onomatopoeia. I would recommend this to children who like trucks.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher, but was not required to post a positive review.

Create! A Girl’s Guide to DIY, Doodles, & Design

True to its name, Create! A Girl’s Guide to DIY, Doodles, & Design breaks it’s content up into those three categories. The 28 DIYs include Pom Pom garland, felt-flowered mirror, cross string art, and my favorite, book page embroidery. The 11 doodles include how to create your own hand-lettering style, Bible verse poster, and one I find particularly interesting, progressive drawing. The 15 designs include glitter button earrings, silverware organizer jewelry holder, and several duct tape projects.

Each project has at least one full color photo, a description of the project, a materials list, and step by step instructions. Some include additional elements such as helpful hints, ways to jazz it up, and rarely, Bible verses.

The Christian projects include steps instructing prayer during the process as well.

In the back of the book there is an index of materials that lists each project that uses the material underneath. Because each uses multiple materials, I think this would mostly be helpful for shopping and knowing, for example, if you find a deal on picture frames that two different projects use them.

The book is a good suze, brightly colored, and would make a really fun gift for a child who loves crafting, but for parents who need a little help with ideas. This book is a great way to express creativity, but most would require heavy adult participation, at least until the reader is in her teens.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher but I was not required to post a positive review.