Inspired by the strong women in the creators' lives and brought to life by more than 250 individually crafted stamps, The Old Truck is a quietly powerful ode to hard work and perseverance.
A Black farming family--mother, father, daughter--cheerfully toils through the seasons, loading their red truck with produce even as the vehicle grows older--"And older./ And older still," until it settles into the weeds by the barn. Time passes. Now a grown woman, the next-generation farmer hauls the old truck out and works to repair it. Finally, she's rewarded with a satisfying "VROOOOOOOM!!"
The Old Truck invites close and frequent reading. Keen-eyed children will catch small details: the way the barn gradually fades from red to brown and the foliage and crops change with the seasons. Debut author/illustrators and brothers Jarrett and Jerome Pumphrey use a natural, earthy palette to express the simple joys of self-sufficiency and a connection to the land. --Emilie Coulter, freelance writer and editor