THE OLD TRUCK written and illustrated by Jarrett Pumphrey and Jerome Pumphrey is a captivating example of a true picture book with half of the story being told by the words and the other half by the illustrations. The first double page spread contains the words: “On a small farm, an old truck worked hard.” The accompanying illustration shows the old truck waiting for the mother, father and little girl, to load it with apples, carrots and corn in preparation for a trip to the city.
As the years pass, the truck gets older and older and finally needs to rest. The illustrations are full of emotion as the truck is shown abandoned at the back of the house where the overgrowth claims it and the old truck no longer can be seen.
The 250 retro stamps designed and used to create the illustrations capture a past time rendering the story almost timeless. The Pumphrey brothers drew a picture of each illustration using markers, then made a colorful stamp for each item in each picture. Next, these items were arranged and feed into a computer. The end result is compelling and engaging illustrations.
A new farmer, looking very much like the little girl grown up, takes over the farm and starts fixing equipment including the old truck. Cheers are sure to emanate from young hearts when they see the new farmer pulling the broken old truck out of its rusting place and giving it a chance to serve a new generation.
THE OLD TRUCK written and illustrated by Jarrett Pumphrey and Jerome Pumphrey is a story of love, hard work and resiliency for youngsters 3-5 years of age (Norton Young Readers/ W.W. Norton and Company, 2020).
Activity questions for The Old Truck
Study the pictures and find the answers to the following questions: What does this family grow on their farm? What else do they drive on this farm besides the old truck? What three vehicles does the old truck dream of becoming? Where does the old truck and the little girl go together in the dream? What frightens the chickens when the new owner gets in the driver’s seat of the old truck?
The old truck in this story plays an important role in the life of the family before it gets older and in need of repair. Have you ever had something that you loved that got older and was in need of repair such as a special blanket, a stuffed animal or a bicycle? Think about it. Did anyone help you repair it? Do you still have it? Can you draw two pictures of that special item—one before and one after it was repaired?
Toward the back of the book there is a picture of the repaired old truck making a sound of Varoooom! Try out this loud sound----be the truck and make your new energy known. HAVE FUN.
