Truckeroo School

Kirk (Oh So Brave Dragon) transports readers to the profoundly weird land of Truckeroo, whose citizens all drive custom-made trucks that correspond to their interests and personalities: “Before they make their diaper wet,/ they build a friend, a truck—a pet!” The Truckeroovians themselves are multicolored, goblinlike creatures with glassy eyes, bulbous noses, and various tentacles, horns, and tails. Their grinning vehicles are just as, er, distinctive: one has a giant pig’s head, another has a toilet for a seat, and a third is a snot-spewing dragon. As the day proceeds, the creatures move from a parking lot art class to a chaotic music lesson to snack time (“Is it already time to eat?/ Young monsters must have something sweet./ Their trucks however all require/ meals that explode or catch on fire”). Some readers will soak up the hallucinogenic strangeness; others will wonder what they just read. Ages 3–6. Agent: Barry Goldblatt, Barry Goldblatt Literary. (Aug.)