Little Taco Truck

by Tanya Valentine, Jorge Martin (Illustrator)

Overview

Dragons Love Tacos meets Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site in this irresistibly kid-friendly read-aloud about a little taco truck that is having trouble finding a place to park.

Little Taco Truck serves up tasty treats to the hungry workers on Union Street . . . until one day, Miss Falafel shows up with her baked pita bread and crunchy chickpea fritters—and parks in his space. The next day, Miss Falafel is there again, and this time she's brought Gumbo Jumbo and Annie Arepas with her. Little Taco Truck's headlights dim. What if people like Gumbo Jumbo's spicy stew and Annie Arepas's warm cornbread cakes more than they like his tacos? When more trucks arrive the following day and there's no space left for Little Taco Truck, he swishes his wipers to hide his tears and heads home. At last, with some ingenuity and help from new friends, Little Taco Truck wins back his coveted parking spot. And guess what? There is room enough for everyone!

Packed with flavor and savory smells, this irresistible read-aloud about friendship and determination is perfect for even the youngest truck and taco fans.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781524765859
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	04/02/2019
Pages:	40
Sales rank:	278,428
Product dimensions:	9.10(w) x 11.20(h) x 0.30(d)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

Tanya Valentine is an active member of SCBWI and the Atlanta Writers Club and is the author of a picture book about interracial adoption, All Bears Need Love. She can be found online at tanyavalentine.com and on Twitter at @tanya_valentine.

Originally from Spain, Jorge has lived in Mexico City, San Francisco, and Hamburg and now lives in London. He is the illustrator of A Cat Is Better by Linda Joy Singleton and the author and illustrator of I'm Hungry! Visit him online at jorgemartin.org or follow him on Twitter at @jorgemartin.

Editorial Reviews

…whimsically illustrated…Valentine's story is about making space for everyone, even if it's a bit of a squeeze, and enjoying all the goodness the world has to offer.

The New York Times Book Review - Maria Russo

02/20/11

Little Taco Truck has a happy life: he’s got a great location and plenty of satisfied customers. Then other food trucks—serving falafel, tapas, gumbo, arepas, and gelato (all defined in a glossary)—move in and crowd him out. While the other trucks’ opportunism seems far more thoughtless than malicious, Little Taco Truck’s tentativeness and self-pity exacerbate the ordeal (What if his customers like the other food more? What if he disappears from view?). But tearful misery soon gives way to determination: he stakes out a space at dawn, and when the others show up, Valentine (All Bears Need Love) writes, “Little Taco Truck blinked his lights, puffed up his tires and said, ‘This is my spot!’ ” Chastened and eager to cooperate (“We can all fit if we squeeze,” volunteers the arepas truck), the group even finds room when Oodles of Noodles shows up. A familiar story about standing up for oneself gets a tasty twist courtesy of the urban culinary zeitgeist and plenty of visual pop from digital illustrations by Martin (I’m Hungry), who arrays the blocky, brightly colored characters along a single, streetlike plane. Ages 3–7. Author’s agent: Linda Epstein, Emerald City Literary Agency. Illustrator’s agent: Anne Moore Armstrong, Bright USA. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

It’s about time food trucks took their rightful place in the pantheon of picture-book vehicles.” - New York Times Book Review

From the Publisher

04/01/2019

PreS-Gr 2—Little Taco Truck is parked in the perfect spot under a shady tree and close to the workers who are constructing new buildings in a large city. His troubles begin one morning when he arrives as usual only to find that big, beautiful blue Miss Falafel has usurped his perfect parking place. Each day, when Little Taco Truck shows up, he discovers more food trucks parked on the street and has difficulty finding a place for himself. He eventually comes up with a plan to take back his original location. The other vehicles soon realize how thoughtless they have been in not making room for him. Digital illustrations feature trucks in bright, bold red, yellow, and pink serving a variety of foods such as gumbo, tapas, arepas, and gelato. Kindness and consideration for others, as well as learning to stand up for oneself, are the themes of this title. VERDICT This hip and fun read-aloud will appeal to children who are fully cognizant of the importance of playing fair.—Maryann H. Owen, Oak Creek Public Library WI

School Library Journal

2019-01-15

A little orange food truck parks in the same place every day, bringing tacos to hungry construction workers—till one morning, a falafel truck takes his spot.

Miss Falafel then brings by more of her friends, crowding out the taco truck. Little Taco Truck whines and cries, but after four days of being shut out by the bigger trucks, he finally takes the initiative. He spends the night in his former parking space, defending his territory when the other trucks arrive. The rest immediately apologize, and after some creative maneuvering, everyone fits—even the newly arrived noodle truck. Valentine's naïve call for cooperation glosses over the very real problem of urban gentrification represented by the flood of bigger and better-equipped trucks taking over the neighborhood. When the taco truck is the only game in town, the food line consists of hard-hatted construction workers. Then, as falafel, arepa, gelato, hot dog, and gumbo trucks set up shop, professionals and hipsters start showing up. (All the customers are depicted as animals.) The author also inadvertently equates tacos with a lack of sophistication. " ‘Hola, Miss Fal…Fal…' Little Taco Truck tried to sound out the words on the side of the other truck." Sadly, the truck sells Americanized crisp-shelled tacos. Even the glossary ignores the culinary versatility and cultural authenticity of the soft taco with this oversimplified and inaccurate definition: "A crispy Mexican corn pancake folded or rolled around a filling of meat, beans, and cheese."

Slight and contrived. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews