The Van: When the Van Gets Stuck – A Clever Beach Story for Kids (Ages 4-7)

Green Light Readers Level 1

by Holly Keller

Sam and his friends are headed for the beach. And when their van gets stuck, they figure out a clever way to get it moving again.

Genres: Childrens

24 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2008

About the author

Holly Keller is an American author and illustrator of children’s books, celebrated for her warm storytelling and distinctive minimalist cartoon style, often featuring animal protagonists. A lifelong reader and artist, she studied history before turning to illustration, encouraged by a design professor to pursue picture books. Her debut publications introduced a body of work known for gentle humor and emotional insight. Keller’s stories frequently explore themes such as adoption, belonging, friendship, sibling bonds, and coping with loss, offering young readers reassurance alongside entertainment. In addition to writing and illustrating her own titles, she has created artwork for texts by other children’s authors. Her books have received numerous honors and remain widely appreciated for their clarity, empathy, and timeless appeal.

Reviews

[Matt]

A very basic story about a group of animals who want to take a van ride, the reader is able to find like-sounding words in their attempts at early reading. Neo was able to guess at names and actions using this formula, though he did not think the story was very interesting. He did surmise that this was a beach trip, based on the items in the illustrations, which is always a launching point of reading and imagination for the developing reader.

[Elise]

Good rhyming book, introduces family words of the same ending. This book is suitable to talk about being helpful and problem solving. The activities at the end of the book are great ideas to help children make up their own ending of the story.