Review by Booklist Review
Wake up, Ol' Partner. It's springtime! So begins an agricultural year for a farmer and his trusty tractor. Each season brings new equipment to use with the tractor: a plow to turn soil, a mower to cut the clover, a cultivator to weed, and a combine to cut the wheat. At harvest time, the farmer hitches up a wagon to haul corn and then, just for fun, gives the neighbors a hayride. Throughout the year, we also see a woman and young child working and playing on the farm. When winter comes, it's time for the farmer's ol' partner to go back in the shed. Digital illustrations are bright and bold, showing clearly each piece of equipment, yet they seem almost too clean and slick for actual farm life. Likewise, the people are unnatural and flat, belonging more on a computer game than in a picture book about farm life. Still, this simple, clean narrative should fit the bill for vehicle-loving kids.--Mazza, April Copyright 2015 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
PreS-Gr 2-Clement is a deity of vehicular lit. When kids enter the moving machinery phase of childhood, they revel in his Drive (2008), Job Site (2011), and Speed (2013, all Boyds Mills). Big Tractor is another wonderland of superlative illustrations that convey interesting information with the help of minimal text. The main characters here are a farmer in a checkered shirt and green-and-white cap, and a large green tractor. On the first page, the farmer opens a huge door and says, "Wake up, Ol' Partner. It's springtime!" He talks to the vehicle about the jobs they are tackling as they proceed through the growing season: "Hurry up! Time to tow the planter. Time to seed the rows." "Take a break, Ol' Partner. Time to start up the combine. Time to cut down the wheat." Each spread is a lesson in agriculture, demonstrating the many phases of activity and the attachments a tractor pulls in order to get the work done. The computer-rendered images are dramatic and beautiful, treating readers to a wide variety of colors and perspectives. VERDICT Pair this title with Michael Garland's Grandpa's Tractor (2011) and Joy Cowley's The Rusty, Trusty Tractor (1999, both Boyds Mills) for a farm machinery storytime that's downright heartwarming.-Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY (c) Copyright 2015. 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
With simple language and bold computer-rendered illustrations, this book follows the relationship between a farmer and his tractor, which he calls Ol' Partner, through the seasons. The tractor has many responsibilities, from planting to mowing to providing fun. Many kinds of farm equipment are mentioned, and the visually arresting images show tools operating from a variety of interesting perspectives. (c) Copyright 2015. 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
A burly man in a plaid shirt and baseball cap addresses his tractor as "Ol' Partner," reminding his green-painted friend of all the jobs they do together over the course of one agricultural year, from spring to winter.The type on the cover emphasizes the word "big," and the tractor's increasing size on the title and acknowledgment pages confirms that the tractor is indeed the book's star. In the first spread of the actual story, it looms so large in the foreground that just a fraction of its large girth is depicted, while in the background, the farmer slides open a door and says, in boldly lettered words, "Wake up, Ol' Partner. It's springtime!" Impressive graphics on a series of spreads show different tools hooked up to the tractor as it assists with tasks throughout the seasons, ending with a lovely post-harvest activity. Young children will enjoy the frequent appearances of a woman in pink and a childprobably malein green, who sometimes help with activities and are obviously part of the farm family. The boy, who shows subtle growth over the seasons, can be spotted relaxing under an umbrella attached to Ol' Partner during one of the tractor's rest periods, and the woman drives Ol' Partner in an appealing, crepuscular scene of autumn harvest, with patterns of cornstalks backlit by the man's harvester. Definitely worth a second look among the extensive array of books about large vehicles. (Picture book. 2-6) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
