Horn Book Magazine
This well-designed picture book does a lot with a simple concept. It follows Mr. Gilly, the trashman, as he makes his rounds picking up trash at the school, the park, the doctor's office, etc. For the most part, the text appears inside rectangular strips on the edges of each spread, white strips on the left, black strips on the right; the right-hand ones repeating the refrain: "Dump it in, smash it down, drive around the Trashy Town! Is the trash truck full yet? NO." At the end of the day, all the trash is brought to the dump. "Mr. Gilly has cleaned up the whole town!" Except for one thing. The final spread reveals Mr. Gilly in the bathtub cleaning himself. As he did in Bam, Bam, Bam (rev. 7/95) by Eve Merriam, Yaccarino uses large blocks of bright color and simplified shapes to create his compositions. He employs a few judicious details, like the two mice who follow him from page to page or a dropped slice of pizza, to provide interest and humor, but leaves plenty of white space to achieve a fresh, open look over all. As in the best children's picture books, this one is effective in a number of ways. In addition to its obvious utilitarian function for preschool study units on community helpers, story hours will be enlivened as young children quickly learn to repeat, and actively demonstrate, the tongue-twisting refrain. Their language skills will be joyfully tested in the process. Lots of fun here, for toddlers, preschoolers, and adults who enjoy sharing books with this audience.
Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Zimmerman and Clemesha, authors of The Cow Buzzed, give a cleaned-up account of sanitation work. Mr. Gilly is a trash collector and has the enviable task of driving a big blue truck. Accompanied by two tidy, pale-gray rats, Mr. Gilly gathers garbage from the school, the park and the pizza parlor. Each stop is followed by the refrain: Dump it in, smash it down, drive around the Trashy Town! (the type is set into a neat black side bar at the right of each spread). Theres nary an overfull can or torn garbage bag in sight, and by the end, Mr. Gilly has cleaned up the whole town! He takes his load to the dump, then goes home for a bath. Despite the smelly and slimy aspects of garbage collecting, Zimmerman and Clemesha make Mr. Gillys job seem satisfying. If they oversimplify, they also dignify the works human component. Like the authors, Yaccarino (Circle Dogs) also makes the work look manageable. His rectangular silhouettes of urban buildings and stylized alleys appear in unadulterated shades of sapphire blue and deep red. He pictures items of litterbanana peels, pizza slices, empty bottles and cansas sleek icons, giving no indication of dirt or decay; Mr. Gillys ochre jumpsuit and blue plaid shirt remain unsullied. This overwhelmingly positive day-in-the-life gives an overdue salute to an unsung hero, and transforms Trashy Town into a tidy town. Ages 4-8. (Apr.)
Library Journal
PreS-K-Sporting big gloves and a friendly smile, Mr. Gilly drives his garbage truck about town. An exuberant crash-bang refrain and bold, blocky illustrations will have preschoolers chanting along and clamoring for more. Good clean fun. (May) Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
School Library Journal
PreS-K-This jaunty look at garbage collection makes a backbreaking job look like fun. Yaccarino's illustrations are appealingly childlike and have a slightly retro look. They show a brightly colored, if somewhat messy, town-definitely in need of the trash collector's cheerful care. Simple shapes and minimal detail suggest various locations (the school, the park, the pizza parlor) but keep the focus squarely on Mr. Gilly as he goes about his appointed rounds. At the same time, two small rodents appear in each double-page spread, providing continuity as they introduce a playful element to the story. The repetitive, rhythmic text makes it easy for children to chime in. Preschoolers will especially appreciate the refrain, "Dump it in, smash it down, drive around the Trashy Town! Is the trash truck full yet? NO." Like the pictures, the type has a solid, almost blocky appearance; it is easy to read and contributes to the book's design. Entertaining enough to be read just for fun, this simple selection will also appeal to teachers looking for stories about community helpers.-Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
Andrea Wilk
Children's endless fascination with vehicles, big machinery, and friendly community workers all come together in a very jolly and funny story that's chock-full of the elements little kids love—repetitive text, simple questions that have predictable answers, and immensely appealing illustrations by the very kid-friendly Dan Yaccarino. How will any child be able to resist the refrain "Dump it in, smash it down, drive around the Trashy Town! Is the trash truck full yet? NO"?...The whimsical pictures are both simple enough to entertain young children and sophisticated enough to keep the adult reader amused...Trashy Town is a book that will appear to kids and to the adults who will no doubt end up reading it again and again.
— Riverbank Review
Kirkus Reviews
Listeners will quickly take up the percussive chorus—"Dump it in, smash it down, drive around the Trashy town! Is the trash truck full yet? NO"—as they follow burly Mr. Gilly, the garbage collector, on his rounds from park to pizza parlor and beyond. Flinging cans and baskets around with ease, Mr. Gilly dances happily through streetscapes depicted with loud colors and large, blocky shapes; after a climactic visit to the dump, he roars home for a sudsy bath. Part of a spate of books intent on bringing the garbage collectors in children's lives a little closer, this almost matches Eve Merriam's Bam Bam Bam (1995), also illustrated by Yaccarino, for sheer verbal and visual volume. (Picture book. 5-7)
