Alphabet Trucks
Start your engines! This book journeys through each letter of the alphabet, highlighting familiar trucks like apple trucks, box trucks, and cargo trucks, while also introducing some less familiar trucks such as x-ray trucks, yard trucks, and zipper trucks. Vehicle lovers will have a blast identifying the letters, saying the letter sounds, and tickling their tongues with fun vocabulary like the "knuckle-boom truck." Families visiting the library should check this book out before they "hit the road."
Pennsylvania Center for the Book Awards
Book Activities & Discussion Ideas
This book introduces many different kinds of trucks; some may be familiar and some may not. It might be helpful to have other nonfiction reference books close by that can help provide additional information about specific trucks in which children have a special interest. Alphabet Trucks also sets the stage for some interactive letter play. Using masking tape and a marker, children can assign letters to photos or drawings of different vehicles, or perhaps to toy vehicles so that they can create a letter parade of their own. It may also be fun to incorporate letter cutouts or magnets into block play, where children can label buildings, "dump" letters from a dump truck, and more.
Adults may want to preview the different kinds of trucks in this book before reading with children to prepare for some of the questions their children might ask. Some of the trucks are unique and could be new to both adults and children – which is a nice way to expand vocabulary and learning. Children may have a favorite truck that they want to look for or go back to while reading. This provides a nice opportunity for adults to ask children about the names of their favorite trucks. What letters do those trucks begin with? Sometimes we have different names for the same kind of truck, like "digger" and "excavator." When this happens, adults can point to the different beginning letters in each word and talk about the sounds each letter makes.