Duck Duck Taco Truck
By Laura Levoie and Teresa Martinez
"Duck. Duck. Taco truck. Working hard to make a buck."
Two food trucks staffed by sworn enemies: ducks vs. geese. Before you can say "curly fries", these two rivals are in an epic food truck face-off. "Battle on! At dawn, we ride!"
But soon, Goose becomes overwhelmed by hangry crowds. He sure could use some extra wings to help out! Will these foes find a solution and become feathered friends?
This clever, high-energy, taco tale, packed with bright art featuring kids' favorite foods, shows young readers how cooperation and teamwork can overcome conflict. It's a superbly silly summer story, the perfect pick for taco and truck fans.
Mabuhay!
By Zachary Sterling
Can two kids save the world and work their family food truck?
First-generation Filipino siblings JJ and Althea struggle to belong at school. JJ wants to fit in with the crowd, while Althea wants to be accepted as she is. To make matters worse, they have to help their parents run the family food truck by dressing up as a dancing pig and passing out samples. Ugh! And their mom is always pointing out lessons from Filipino folklore -- annoying tales they've heard again and again. But when witches, ogres, and other creatures from those same stories threaten their family, JJ and Althea realize that the folklore may be more real that they'd suspected. Can they embrace who they really are and save their family?
It
seemed a little skimpy to use one illustrated kid's book as a prompt,
so instead I used two! Duck Duck Taco Truck is a picture book for the
2-4 crowd, which is who I read it to. It wasn't an instant hit there,
but I enjoyed it at least.
For
me, the key to enjoying reading kids books for toddlers is that they
need to be at least a little bit smart. Good rhythm is important (one of
my recent favorites to read is The Seven Silly Eaters), although rhyming isn't
essential (we also enjoy a good Marianne Dubuc story), decent
illustration and compelling story. It doesn't have to be complicated,
and in fact that sometimes hurts the experience. Very little actually
happens in the evergreen Blueberries for Sal, but what does happen is
beautiful.
All that is to
say, the unexpected resolution of Duck Duck Taco Truck charmed me. I
thought for sure it would be a great battle in which the taco ducks
emerge victorious over goose, but this was better, a little bit kinder,
even if I think the revised food combos sounded grosser than the
original offerings. It's not a perennial classic, but I won't mind
reading it a few more times.
Mabuhay!
is a graphic novel for older kids, maybe the 8-10 year olds. It's a
good little book, even if (like Duck Duck Taco Truck) it doesn't meet
the high standard of similar books (here I'm thinking of Vera Brosgol's oeuvre).
There's good
elements in it, characters, setting and illustrations, but I do think
the shift to a supernatural battle would have been better served if it
had been a longer book. The coming of age story alone would be fine in
something this size, but once the paranormal element was brought in, it
felt like we just got sidelined character development in order to rush
through the plot. The revelations the kids have in the third act feel
less important in light of the battle for light over darkness.
That's
probably why all my favorite parts are in the first half: Tito Arvin is
great whenever he appears, the video game all-nighter with JJ, Althea,
and Victor is hilariously accurate, and the side stories about Juan
Tamad and Pinya are fun digressions. But having Juan be the one to tell
JJ that being yourself is best feels like trying to fit a square peg
into a round hole. Like it was shoehorned in because someone needed to
do it and otherwise there was no point to Juan. There also didn't seem
to be any rhyme or reason for the magical powers that JJ and Althea
developed: why did the unathletic kid get martial arts weapons?
Of
course, the book doesn't stint on the most important part (especially a
book about food trucks): descriptions of food, including a recipe for
chicken adobo in the back. That would have been real cause for
complaint. Mabuhay!
29: A Book About A Food Truck
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