The truck on the track;

by Janet Burroway, John Vernon Lord

A cumulative rhyme recounts the efforts of a circus troop to move their stranded circus truck off the railroad track.

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1972

About the author

Janet Burroway is the author of seven novels including The Buzzards, Raw Silk (runner up for the national Book award), Opening Nights, and Cutting Stone; a volume of poetry, Material Goods; a collection of essays, Embalming Mom; and two children's books, The Truck on the Track and The Giant Jam Sandwich. Her most recent plays, Medea With Child, Sweepstakes, Division of Property, and Parts of Speech, have received readings and productions in New York, London, San Francisco, Hollywood, and various regional theatres. Her Writing Fiction is the most widely used creative writing text in America, and a multi-genre textbook, Imaginative Writing, appeared in 2002. A B.A. from Barnard College and M.A. from Cambridge University, England, she was Yale School of Drama RCA-NBC Fellow 1960-61, and is Robert O. Lawton Distinguished Professor Emerita at the Florida State University in Tallahassee.

Reviews

[Illuminated Frogs · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the best picture book I read as a kid, such a brilliant ending

[Lesa Loves Books · Rating 5 out of 5]

An old rackety circus truck gets stuck on a train track to the complete befuddlement of the circus folk passengers. Performers pop out of the truck one after the other to gripe at the truck and coerce it in wacky ways to move off the track. Finally, they give up... set up the circus tent and start the show... and the poor old truck gets whacked by a train.

The Truck on the Track has been a favorite of my little boy since he was age two. Of course, when he was two, I read an abreviatied version and now at age seven, he can read it by himself.... but we like to read this silly fun book together. The rhyming narrative is engaging and the illustrations are delightfully detailed. We spot something new in the illustrations every time we read this book.

I'm so pleased that this book has been reprinted so that more kiddoes and parents can enjoy. Highly recommended!

[Erin Sky · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my very favorite book as a child, and that's saying something. Can't recommend it enough! 10,000 stars!