TRUCKER KID: A Picture Book Review, Author Interview, and Giveaway!

TRUCKER KID  (Capstone, June 2023)

 From Amazon:

"Although Athena misses her truck-driving daddy when he's on the road, she thinks he has the most amazing job in the world. She loves showing off her love of all things trucking. But her classmates don't quite get her or why she calls herself Trucker Kid. Can Athena change their minds and show the other students that it's cool to be Trucker Kid?"

Written by Carol Gordon Ekster with lively illustrations by Russ Cox, this book teaches kids about the life of a trucker's family and is full of trucking similes and metaphors that both kids and adults will enjoy. 

REVIEW

Athena's got a problem. Her truck-driving dad is leaving for a week and she'll miss him!

"When she heads inside, she deflates like a flat tire."

She stays busy playing with her trucks, drawing trucks, and reading about trucks.

But at school, no one seems to understand her fascination with trucks. 

Her answer is simple:

After Athena tells her friends how she holds the mic for the CB radio and sleeps in the truck's cab, they decide they want to be trucker kids too.

Athena's dad is happy to bring his truck to the school and let everyone explore it.

The story ends perfectly on the playground with a "traffic jam of drivers" joining Athena.

AUTHOR INTERVIEW

Carol B.: Can you tell us about your path to publication?

Carol E.: In March 2013 I visited my daughter in Taos, NM and we dined at our favorite restaurant. I couldn't help but overhear a family's conversation at a nearby table. Three-year-old Athena was discussing a trucking trip she took with her daddy. My writing brain ignited, and I immediately had my title, Trucker Girl. I told the family that I was a children's author, and how their discussion inspired a title, and I asked for their contact information.

 I came home and took out library books on trucks and trucking. I knew nothing! About one month later I started e-mailing the dad to ask some questions. A month after that I brought the manuscript to a critique group.

 

There have been so many critique buddies weighing too many revisions to count. It gathered close to one hundred rejections!  But then during COVID, I pulled it out again. I had seen how trucks and their drivers were during this difficult time. I added in back matter to show how we rely on trucks and tightened the manuscript. It ended up being one of three manuscripts that helped me secure my first agent.

That agent sent it out on a small round of submissions. Capstone editor, Chris Harbo, acquired it. He was a dream editor and included me in all aspects of the process. Capstone requested a title change from Trucker Girl to Trucker Kid, and of course, I said yes! Almost ten years after that night at the restaurant, I held the book in my hand. 

I love the mysteriousness of this writing life. What if we had not gone to that restaurant at that time or sat next to that family? Trucker Kid was meant to be! My illustrator, Russ Cox, has a son who happens to be a trucker!

CLASSROOM RESOURCE

Carol has a ton of activities on her website for your K-first grade classroom. Teachers could talk about the figurative language used throughout the story and ask students to create their own. In addition, students could look at trucking routes across the United States.

GIVEAWAY

Capstone is providing two copies for two different blog followers. Make sure if you are a librarian or educator to let me know in the comments; your name goes in twice. Please leave your email address if you are new to my blog. If you choose to follow my blog you'll also get an additional chance. U.S. addresses only. The giveaway ends February 21. 

Congratulations to Kathy O'Neill who won Rosie Woods in the Little Red Writing Hood.