Tractor Mac Worth the Wait

Tractor Mac

by Billy Steers

The pigs, Pete and Paul, are eager to help Farmer Bill grow the best and biggest watermelons so he'll win at the annual Fruit and Vegetable Show, but their overzealous efforts to help the melons grow faster end up destroying the entire melon patch. Tractor Mac and friends teach Pete and Paul that with patience and care, they too can grow a prize melon.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

24 pages, Paperback

Published August 20, 2019

About the author

In April 1999, I introduced the first children’s book that I wrote and illustrated, Tractor Mac Arrives at the Farm. Originally published by Golden Books, Tractor Mac Arrives at the Farm tells the story of Sibley the work horse who feels slighted when a “shiny new tractor comes and takes over his chores.” Sibley and Mac overcome their differences and become “the best of friends.” Publisher’s Weekly called it a “bright, spirited read aloud” and after only five months the book was in its second printing.

I have continued on with several more enthralling and likeable Tractor Mac children’s books for boys and girls in the series. Children love the bright, detailed illustrations and absorbing stories, which have become “bedtime favorites.” Subsequent stories include Tractor Mac Learns to Fly followed by Tractor Mac You’re a Winner, Tractor Mac Builds a Barn, Tractor Mac Harvest Time, Tractor Mac Saves Christmas, Tractor Mac Parade’s Best, Tractor Mac Farmer’s Market and Tractor Mac Tune Up. The 10th title in the series, Tractor Mac Farm Days, is a board book developed for the littlest tractor fans and was released in the spring of 2012.

Reviews

[Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book* · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steers, Billy Tractor Mac: Worth the Wait, PICTURE BOOK. Farrar Straus Giroux, 2017. $8.99.

Pete and Paul, two pigs on Farmer Bill's farm, are excited about the watermelons growing in the garden. But in their eagerness to help, they end up ruining much of the melon patch. When they discover a solitary melon growing in their own pig pen, they patiently care for it until it grows big enough to be entered in the Fruit and Vegetable Show.

This is another story in the Tractor Mac series, and I really enjoyed it. I liked the simpleness of the story and the important message about practicing patience and some things taking time. The illustrations and the text combine to be a great story with a very classic feel. I look forward to reading more of these Tractor Mac books in the future.

Pre-K, EL (K-3)--ADVISABLE. Reviewer: TC
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2017...

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this series and the illustrations in particular. The title page, huge props for creativity. This has some messages about patience, particularly when growing something in a garden. Which is helpful when kids don't understand why nothing happens for awhile after planting.

[PottWab Regional Library]

E

[Barbara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Porcine friends of Tractor Mac, Pete and Paul, eagerly anticipate delicious watermelons. Since they want them to grow quickly so they can eat them, they decide to nudge them by following some of the actions of Farmer Bill. But they over water the plants and make it unlikely that any of them will be edible, especially after they sort them according to size. But the animals and Tractor Mac find one small melon on a vine in the pig pen. This time, the pigs are careful not to do too much or too little, and they end up with a prize-winning watermelon. The gentle reminder that sometimes it is necessary to practice patience and wait for things to grow is a good one. I enjoy this series with its farm setting and likeable characters and situations from which most readers can learn quite a lot about how to live life.

The paperback version of this story is just like the original one--accessible, humorous, and containing a good life lesson about patience.