Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1--3--Following up The Old Truck and The Old Boat, the Pumphreys again mark the passage of time while celebrating both the changes it brings and the spirit of renewal. Here, it's a Black family's mule-drawn sleigh that "gave all it took"--delivering firewood to isolated houses that, over years, grow into a town and then a city. Like a "Giving Tree" with runners, the old sleigh continues to serve even after it breaks down beneath a too-large load, as a child takes some of its broken boards to make a sled and continues deliveries until it can be repaired. The Pumphreys never specify a season or holiday, but evergreens growing between houses in the snowy, simply composed winter scenes and references in the stately narrative to how first the sleigh and then the little sled provide "warmth" and "light" to "make the small town merry and bright," do offer broad hints for readers to catch if they will. A diverse population appears across the pages. VERDICT A thematically rich story for all its seeming simplicity, excellent for shared reading and reflection around the December months or year-round.--John Peters
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
The titular sleigh traverses snow-covered hills in all types of weather to deliver firewood. A man and a boy chop wood and load it onto the sleigh for delivery to friendly townspeople. But as the community grows and demand increases, the sleigh breaks in half under the weight. The boy takes parts of the old sleigh to make a new sled, which he uses to continue their deliveries and for playtime until the old sleigh is refurbished. Through spare text and colorful, cheery illustrations, the Pumphreys (The Old Truck, rev. 3/20; The Old Boat, rev. 3/21) draw readers into this cozy world of neighbors caring for one another. Marva Anne HintonNovember/December 2025 p.14 (c) Copyright 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
The Pumphrey brothers bring their now-signature style to this tale of an old sleigh that, like the vehicles inThe Old Truck (2020) andThe Old Boat (2021) before it, works hard in a changing world. As the story opens, readers see a Black-presenting child and parent chopping firewood and loading it into a horse-drawn sleigh against a snowy landscape. "In a small town," we learn, "an old sleigh gave all it took." Parent and child deliver the firewood throughout the town, making it "merry and bright." But the small town grows bigger, and the old sleigh's wooden body begins to break down. The industrious child turns some of its planks into a new sled and uses it to deliver smaller loads of firewood. In the final pages, readers see that the child's parent has repaired the old sleigh, which the child, older now, uses to deliver firewood in the "small city" that has sprung up. Some readers may be left with questions: Is the figure driving the sleigh at book's close the child, now all grown up? And can a city really spring up that fast? On the whole, though, the narrative beguiles as sleigh and sled haul their loads from verso to recto across each scene. The community's buildings stand out against the snow in reds, greens, and mustards, and the simple and rhythmic text charms. A thought-provoking tale of growth and change.(Picture book. 4-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
