What do you think?
Five Trucks
Five different trucks do five different jobs to get an airplane ready for takeoff.
32 pages, Paperback
First published March 15, 1999
About the author
Brian Floca
80 books119 followersBrian Floca is the author-illustrator of the Caldecott Medal winner Locomotive, the Robert F. Sibert Honor books Moonshot and Lightship, and other picture books, and is the illustrator of many more books for young readers. Brian Floca lives and works in Brooklyn.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews
August 4, 2022
Highlights five types of trucks and what they help get done at an airport. Opportunity to count and act out some of the actions (twist, turn, up, down, takeoff).
December 18, 2014
A sure fire hit for transportation/truck enthusiasts (you know who they are!)
Five trucks at an airport . . . make it possible for one airplane to take off.
Text counts up to five, describing each truck, then counts backward. As it counts down, a small label at the bottom of the page notes what kind of truck it is, which is great for children who love to name things.
Text is short enough and pictures large enough to make it great for preschool storytime sharing.
(originally published in 1999)
Five trucks at an airport . . . make it possible for one airplane to take off.
Text counts up to five, describing each truck, then counts backward. As it counts down, a small label at the bottom of the page notes what kind of truck it is, which is great for children who love to name things.
Text is short enough and pictures large enough to make it great for preschool storytime sharing.
(originally published in 1999)
May 6, 2016
Simple story that highlights 5 different vehicles used at airports.
December 3, 2017
Grade: K
genre: contemporary realistic fiction
This book is definitely for beginning readers. it uses simplistic words and repetition which should help kids learn how to read. though it is a very simplistic book it still provides interesting information about the five trucks that get a plane ready for its departure. because there are so few word the illustrations ar key to helping a student understand how the truck performs the function that the words tell is it can do. because it is somewhat interesting I recommend this book but mostly only to people that are at the beginning reader level.
genre: contemporary realistic fiction
This book is definitely for beginning readers. it uses simplistic words and repetition which should help kids learn how to read. though it is a very simplistic book it still provides interesting information about the five trucks that get a plane ready for its departure. because there are so few word the illustrations ar key to helping a student understand how the truck performs the function that the words tell is it can do. because it is somewhat interesting I recommend this book but mostly only to people that are at the beginning reader level.
September 9, 2023
Not the book to read your child... if your child is feeling truculent!
Joke. I couldn't resist making that pun. Actually, this charming and involving book might just be the thing to cure a cranky, bored child's truculence.
Learning aplenty happens through this cool story by Brian Floca. Children learn about five different trucks, and their various jobs.
Meanwhile the story emphasizes hurry-hurry-hurry.
I love how this book for preschoolers can help children to make sense of their world.
Joke. I couldn't resist making that pun. Actually, this charming and involving book might just be the thing to cure a cranky, bored child's truculence.
Learning aplenty happens through this cool story by Brian Floca. Children learn about five different trucks, and their various jobs.
Meanwhile the story emphasizes hurry-hurry-hurry.
I love how this book for preschoolers can help children to make sense of their world.
October 15, 2018
I was surprised by the direction of this book, which I thought would be truck-centric - and it was - but it's set at an airport! My toddler is pretty into this book, which he can look at and enjoy independently, and I can see that it would be of interest for any traveling toddler. I definitely learned names of all those trucks (tractors!) at the airport!
April 17, 2019
Informational Nonfiction
Grade level: Pre-K to 1
This book provides information about trucks and what they do. It is simple text, so it is perfect for beginning readers. I find that most boys like trucks and this book would appeal to them, especially because they most likely could read it on their own.
Grade level: Pre-K to 1
This book provides information about trucks and what they do. It is simple text, so it is perfect for beginning readers. I find that most boys like trucks and this book would appeal to them, especially because they most likely could read it on their own.
September 16, 2019
This book is perfect for families with little travelers! My son and I have spent many hours at the airport and a lot of that was spent looking out at the vehicles we could see from the window at the gate. He was so excited to read this book that we read it about five times in one day!
January 18, 2020
Great for teaching ordinal words to 5. This story goes up to the fifth truck and then counts down again to the first truck. Each truck serves a certain purpose for loading the airplane making this a great story to use for a retelling activity.
July 12, 2021
Simple but fun story that highlights the jobs of each truck at the airport. My kids liked guessing what each trucks job might be, especially once they figured out the setting and relationship to airplanes.
February 27, 2026
very cool illustrations. very few words on a page. so perfect for like 1 to 3-year-olds. My 3-year-old probably would have liked this a lot more about 6 months ago. he didn't come back to it very many times because it was a little bit too simple for him.
September 24, 2017
Finally, women driving trucks! (I mean finally in a children's picture book. In real life they've been there a long time.)
March 27, 2018
What are these five trucks helping?
April 19, 2018
This is a cool book with very simple text that introduces children to trucks that are used at an airport. (I learned something new, too.)
August 15, 2018
Short book on transportation; good for storytime crowd.
September 18, 2018
This is a very simple book with large font and it would be great for toddler or baby story time.
July 7, 2019
Explains all the jobs of the trucks at the airport. Mr 3 years enjoyed this book a lot. We will re-read it before we go on an aeroplane later this year.
August 13, 2019
Perfect read for truck-loving kids who are going to fly somewhere soon. A nice way to anticipate what is to come (and what to look for outside while you’re waiting to board the plane).
October 22, 2020
Multiple vehicles used for various purposes at the airport are explained. Children will love identifying each truck. Simple and yet exciting for little transportation lovers.
January 26, 2021
Son (3yo) really enjoys trucks, so this was right up his alley!
February 2, 2021
Tries to build anticipation about different airport-use vehicles, but ends up being confusing until the ending explanations.
February 11, 2021
5 different trucks at the airport.
August 13, 2021
A great book for the young truck lover in the family.
August 13, 2021
I recommend this book before taking your toddler on an airplane. My son had fun spotting the different trucks we read about in the book.
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December 3, 2023live it, love it, memorize it.
bonus points: takes place at boston logan airport, where i spent my formative youth, authentic illustration of workers holding dunkin donuts cups.
bonus points: takes place at boston logan airport, where i spent my formative youth, authentic illustration of workers holding dunkin donuts cups.
January 3, 2025
A nice transportation story for any car and aviation enthusiast.
September 14, 2025
The trucks that are needed to load a plane and get it ready for take off. Fun illustrations through out.
October 17, 2016
This is a great book when discussing trucks and different types. May be better to just have in the classroom as a book the students can read on there own. I wouldn't read this to the class as a whole.
July 10, 2011
Five Trucks by Brian Floca looks at five trucks whose drivers are first introduced, then each truck and its function is described. Readers soon realize that all are used at an airport, working to get passenger airplanes ready for takeoff.
Readers and listeners get more details about the workings of an airport as the five trucks and their drivers do their jobs. The five trucks are the push out tractor, the tractor for the mechanic, the baggage conveyor, the baggage cart tractor, and the catering truck. The text features a large, bold font, repetition, and about 70 words, making it a strong choice for beginning and transitional readers.
The illustrations, drawn with an ink line & painted with watercolors, are large, detailed, and perfect for this airport story. Movement is well conveyed. Humorous details include Dunkin' Donuts trash in the push out tractor, a crushed box marked "Fragile" on the conveyor belt, and an envelope under a wheel of a mail cart. Nice details of the wheel assembly are shown, and the luggage of the little boy's father is seen being loaded into the cargo area of the plane.
I really enjoyed this book and it would work well as a read-aloud for toddlers or preschoolers. It would be a great choice for an airport or transportation themed storytime. Recommended for purchase.
For ages 2 to 6, transportation, trucks, workers, airplanes, airport themes, and fans of Brian Floca.
Readers and listeners get more details about the workings of an airport as the five trucks and their drivers do their jobs. The five trucks are the push out tractor, the tractor for the mechanic, the baggage conveyor, the baggage cart tractor, and the catering truck. The text features a large, bold font, repetition, and about 70 words, making it a strong choice for beginning and transitional readers.
The illustrations, drawn with an ink line & painted with watercolors, are large, detailed, and perfect for this airport story. Movement is well conveyed. Humorous details include Dunkin' Donuts trash in the push out tractor, a crushed box marked "Fragile" on the conveyor belt, and an envelope under a wheel of a mail cart. Nice details of the wheel assembly are shown, and the luggage of the little boy's father is seen being loaded into the cargo area of the plane.
I really enjoyed this book and it would work well as a read-aloud for toddlers or preschoolers. It would be a great choice for an airport or transportation themed storytime. Recommended for purchase.
For ages 2 to 6, transportation, trucks, workers, airplanes, airport themes, and fans of Brian Floca.
August 11, 2010
Brian Floca brings a new view of the workings of an airport by focusing on five trucks that play a role in preparing a passenger plane for takeoff. The catering truck, tractor with baggage carts, baggage conveyor, tractor, and push-out tractor are introduced first by the kind of movement they perform, then given their names and depicted carrying out their job.
The illustrations are really the appeal of this book. Floca's drawings are characterized by simple lines, but they have more detail than Byron Barton's and show a little more movement. The realistic touches show an observant artist's eye: the crushed package marked "fragile," the workers' Dunkin' Donuts wrappers and cups, an envelope trapped under the wheel of the mail truck, the keys jingling in the caterer's hand -- these all contribute to a feeling of actually being behind the scenes at the airport.
The text is spare, with a rhythm and symmetry that will appeal to a preverbal audience while providing information for older listeners. The only thing that could have made the book better would have been if the names of the vehicles were incorporated in the main text, rather than appearing as labels in smaller text at the bottom of the page (stopping to read the labels interrupts the flow of the book). Still, this is a good choice for prereaders and younger readers.
The illustrations are really the appeal of this book. Floca's drawings are characterized by simple lines, but they have more detail than Byron Barton's and show a little more movement. The realistic touches show an observant artist's eye: the crushed package marked "fragile," the workers' Dunkin' Donuts wrappers and cups, an envelope trapped under the wheel of the mail truck, the keys jingling in the caterer's hand -- these all contribute to a feeling of actually being behind the scenes at the airport.
The text is spare, with a rhythm and symmetry that will appeal to a preverbal audience while providing information for older listeners. The only thing that could have made the book better would have been if the names of the vehicles were incorporated in the main text, rather than appearing as labels in smaller text at the bottom of the page (stopping to read the labels interrupts the flow of the book). Still, this is a good choice for prereaders and younger readers.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 90 reviews