Food Truck Fest!

“Some trucks have ovens, others have grills./ They’re kitchens on wheels, without the frills,” writes Penfold (The Littlest Viking) as food trucks gather on an island for a festival. After caravanning to their destination, the trucks set up shop, offering traditional fare (“Folks settle down with their hot dogs and ices,/ burritos, kebabs, pretzels, and slices”) as well as offerings for diehard foodies (“Kimchi tacos, that’s no illusion./ Korean and Mexican make a tasty fusion”). And nobody minds the long lines because there are plenty of free samples. The story ostensibly follows one family’s journey to the fair, but within a few pages the panoply of eccentrically styled trucks (including one named “Pho Sho” and a fish taco truck with a surfboard on top), their hipster crews, and the multicultural, multigenerational crowd become the real stars. Dutton’s high-spirited illustrations capture the expansive exuberance of a collective day out, and his crafty, cut-out aesthetic feels right on the mark for this down-to-earth, artisanal cuisine and its scrappy, hardworking purveyors. Ages 2–6. Author’s agent: Susan Ginsburg, Writers House. [em]Illustrator’s agent: Marietta Zacker, Gallt & Zacker Literary. (Mar.) [/em]