Review by Booklist Review
Ages 2^-5. Mr. Gilly the trashman puts on his gloves, climbs into his truck, and goes to work. He finds trash at the school, park, pizza parlor, doctor's office, and fire station, landmarks familiar to most preschoolers. At each stop, he empties the cans into his truck to the refuse refrain, "Dump it in, smash it down, drive around the Trashy Town!" When he has collected all the town garbage, he drives to the dump and empties his truck, proudly proclaiming, "I dumped it in. I smashed it down. I love to clean up Trashy Town!" Then he takes off his gloves, goes home, and takes a bath. Short energetic sentences propel the tale. Young children will quickly perceive the story pattern and be anxious to join the narrator at the appropriate places. Employing primary colors dominated by bold blues, Yaccarino's vibrant art has a retro look. His use of shape with minimal detail is a perfect match for the directness and simplicity of the story. Reminiscent of Margaret Wise Brown's best work, this is right on the mark for young children. --Linda PerkinsReference Books Bulletin
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Zimmerman and Clemesha, authors of The Cow Buzzed, give a cleaned-up account of sanitation work. Mr. Gilly is a trash collector and has the enviable task of driving a big blue truck. Accompanied by two tidy, pale-gray rats, Mr. Gilly gathers garbage from the school, the park and the pizza parlor. Each stop is followed by the refrain: Dump it in, smash it down, drive around the Trashy Town! (the type is set into a neat black side bar at the right of each spread). Theres nary an overfull can or torn garbage bag in sight, and by the end, Mr. Gilly has cleaned up the whole town! He takes his load to the dump, then goes home for a bath. Despite the smelly and slimy aspects of garbage collecting, Zimmerman and Clemesha make Mr. Gillys job seem satisfying. If they oversimplify, they also dignify the works human component. Like the authors, Yaccarino (Circle Dogs) also makes the work look manageable. His rectangular silhouettes of urban buildings and stylized alleys appear in unadulterated shades of sapphire blue and deep red. He pictures items of litterbanana peels, pizza slices, empty bottles and cansas sleek icons, giving no indication of dirt or decay; Mr. Gillys ochre jumpsuit and blue plaid shirt remain unsullied. This overwhelmingly positive day-in-the-life gives an overdue salute to an unsung hero, and transforms Trashy Town into a tidy town. Ages 4-8. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by Library Journal Review
PreS-K-Sporting big gloves and a friendly smile, Mr. Gilly drives his garbage truck about town. An exuberant crash-bang refrain and bold, blocky illustrations will have preschoolers chanting along and clamoring for more. Good clean fun. (May) (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-K-This jaunty look at garbage collection makes a backbreaking job look like fun. Yaccarino's illustrations are appealingly childlike and have a slightly retro look. They show a brightly colored, if somewhat messy, town-definitely in need of the trash collector's cheerful care. Simple shapes and minimal detail suggest various locations (the school, the park, the pizza parlor) but keep the focus squarely on Mr. Gilly as he goes about his appointed rounds. At the same time, two small rodents appear in each double-page spread, providing continuity as they introduce a playful element to the story. The repetitive, rhythmic text makes it easy for children to chime in. Preschoolers will especially appreciate the refrain, "Dump it in, smash it down, drive around the Trashy Town! Is the trash truck full yet? NO." Like the pictures, the type has a solid, almost blocky appearance; it is easy to read and contributes to the book's design. Entertaining enough to be read just for fun, this simple selection will also appeal to teachers looking for stories about community helpers.-Lisa Dennis, The Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh, PA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
(Preschool) This well-designed picture book does a lot with a simple concept. It follows Mr. Gilly, the trashman, as he makes his rounds picking up trash at the school, the park, the doctor's office, etc. For the most part, the text appears inside rectangular strips on the edges of each spread, white strips on the left, black strips on the right; the right-hand ones repeating the refrain: ""Dump it in, smash it down, drive around the Trashy Town! Is the trash truck full yet? NO."" At the end of the day, all the trash is brought to the dump. ""Mr. Gilly has cleaned up the whole town!"" Except for one thing. The final spread reveals Mr. Gilly in the bathtub cleaning himself. As he did in Bam, Bam, Bam (rev. 7/95) by Eve Merriam, Yaccarino uses large blocks of bright color and simplified shapes to create his compositions. He employs a few judicious details, like the two mice who follow him from page to page or a dropped slice of pizza, to provide interest and humor, but leaves plenty of white space to achieve a fresh, open look over all. As in the best children's picture books, this one is effective in a number of ways. In addition to its obvious utilitarian function for preschool study units on community helpers, story hours will be enlivened as young children quickly learn to repeat, and actively demonstrate, the tongue-twisting refrain. Their language skills will be joyfully tested in the process. Lots of fun here, for toddlers, preschoolers, and adults who enjoy sharing books with this audience. n.v. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
PLB 0-06-027140-X Listeners will quickly take up the percussive chorus--"Dump it in, smash it down, drive around the Trashy town! Is the trash truck full yet? NO"--as they follow burly Mr. Gilly, the garbage collector, on his rounds from park to pizza parlor and beyond. Flinging cans and baskets around with ease, Mr. Gilly dances happily through streetscapes depicted with loud colors and large, blocky shapes; after a climactic visit to the dump, he roars home for a sudsy bath. Part of a spate of books intent on bringing the garbage collectors in children's lives a little closer, this almost matches Eve Merriam's Bam Bam Bam (1995), also illustrated by Yaccarino, for sheer verbal and visual volume. (Picture book. 5-7) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
