GOODNIGHT, GOODNIGHT, CONSTRUCTION SITE

Author Rinker (and illustrator Lichtenheld) poetically imagines a bustling construction site at the end of the workday. Narrator Dion Graham personifies a toddler’s favorite trucks as each one finishes its job and readies for bed. Graham’s voice is full of bravado as the dump truck hauls loads BIG (loud voice) and small (tiny voice) and finishes with an exhausted plea for rest. When the cement mixer yawns, so does Graham. Graham’s use of pauses invites young listeners to anticipate each truck’s next action, and the rhyme that might come, as well as offering time to pore over the engaging illustrations. Background sound effects highlight the construction-site setting. A.R. © AudioFile 2013, Portland, Maine [Published: FEBRUARY 2013]