BOOKS
illustrated by Eric Rohmann
Atheneum Books for
Young Readers, May 2015
978–1481400978
ages 2 to 6
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hardcover
e‑book
After you’ve read Bulldozer’s Big Day try these books:
Bulldozer’s Big Day
Big trucks and a birthday surprise make this construction site treat an irresistible read-aloud, illustrated by a Caldecott Medalist!
It’s Bulldozer’s big day — his birthday! But around the construction site, it seems like everyone is too busy to remember. Bulldozer wheels around asking his truck friends if they know what day it is, but they each only say it’s a work day. They go on scooping, sifting, stirring, filling, and lifting, and little Bulldozer grows more and more glum. But when the whistle blows at the end of the busy day, Bulldozer discovers a construction site surprise, especially for him!
Resources
- Bulldozer’s Big Day: an Original Song (music, lyrics, MP3s)
- Bulldozer’s Big Day: Library Storytime STEAM Kit
- Bulldozer’s Big Day: Social-Emotional Learning Guide
- Bulldozer’s Big Day: Bookstorm (companion books, websites)
- Bulldozer’s Big Day: Bookstorm Bookmap
- Bulldozer’s Big Day: Pinterest board (more IDEAS!)
- Bookology Magazine interview with Candace Fleming
Awards and Honors
- CCBC Choices 2016
Reviews
“Bulldozer feels forgotten on his birthday, until a surprise brightens his day. It’s Bulldozer’s big day, and he’s brimming with excitement. Bouncing across the construction site, the jubilant vehicle seeks out his friends. But Digger, Dump Truck, and the others seem too preoccupied to notice. (Participles are the order of the day: ‘scooping,’ ‘sifting,’ ‘mashing,’ ‘lifting,’ and more.) When the construction whistle blows, the deflated bulldozer starts to drag himself away, but then toots fill the air. Horns and engines resound as Crane hoists a giant cake up from a massive pit, much to Bulldozer’s delight. Action-packed pages and playful onomatopoeia will draw the construction obsessed in, while the emotive little bulldozer, so perfectly personified, will capture the hearts and empathy of all. Fleming’s seemingly simple text is accessible, teachable, and loads of fun. As in Oh, No! (2012), she and Rohmann team up to great effect. Clever use of angles and perspective emphasize Bulldozer’s emotions of disappointment and joy, and the block prints have a warmth and authenticity that both entertain and endear Bulldozer to readers. Matte pages and an embossed cover add to its charm. A winning addition to the construction-vehicle shelf.” (Kirkus Reviews, starred review)
“Fleming and Rohmann team up for their second picture book in celebration of Bulldozer’s birthday. He zooms across the construction site in joyous anticipation of his big day only to discover that every construction truck he greets is too busy to acknowledge anything more than the jobs that need to be done. As surely as the scooping, sifting, and stirring prevails, Bulldozer’s blade droops lower and lower as the day passes without recognition. When the construction whistle signals the end of the work day with a big ‘Wooot!’ all hope is lost until a ‘Feeef!’ and a ‘Toot! Tweet! Ah-wooo!’ signal the start of a surprise birthday party. Rohmann’s signature relief (block) prints are a perfect complement to Fleming’s earnest tale. The bold black lines of the machines and construction site are balanced by the black framed pages and offset by the trucks’ primary colors and variable backgrounds in blues and white. Chunky details, especially the trucks’ eyes and the rubble they’re tending, make the story come alive. The heavyweight matte paper and relief lettering on the dust jacket add satisfying tactile details to the engaging text and playful illustrations. VERDICT This masterfully crafted story will become a favorite read-aloud choice. (Lynn Van Auken, School Library Journal)
“The team behind Oh, No! (2012) imagines a construction-site birthday celebration that ends with a multi-story surprise. Wide-eyed Bulldozer bumps and bounces over the site, eager for the bigger, older machines to share in his birthday excitement. ‘Guess what today is!’ Bulldozer asks Digger. But to them, it’s just another day: ‘Today is a scooping day,’ Digger replies. ‘And a sifting day,’ adds Dump Truck. ‘Sifting … sifting … sifting.’ Using relief printing, Rohmann surrounds bright, gauzy fields of color with warm black lines, giving each truck faithful detailing and winning expressiveness. With each disappointing interaction, Bulldozer’s blade droops ever lower, but at the end of the day whistles blow (‘Feeef!’ ‘Toot!’), and Crane lifts an enormous birthday cake from the construction site pit, complete with glowing candles. Now readers can go back over the pages and see how Bulldozer’s birthday surprise was made (Digger was moving sprinkles, and Crane was lifting candles). The power of giant construction equipment makes a fine vehicle (ahem) to convey the outsize excitement of a special day. (Publishers Weekly)
“On his ‘big day,’ Bulldozer practically flies across the construction site; he can’t wait to invite all his friends to his party. He starts with Digger: ‘Guess what today is!’ But the big machine isn’t interested in guessing: ‘I don’t need to guess, kid. Today is a scooping day.’ Dump Truck rumbles, Cement Mixer stirs, Scraper rattles, Grader clatters — everyone appears too preoccupied with work to guess the answer to Bulldozer’s question. By the time he reaches Roller, Bulldozer has all but given up: ‘Do you care what today is?’ he asks. ‘No,’ Roller grumbled.’ Young story hour audiences will care, though, and Fleming’s simple and engaging text will keep them invested in the story’s outcome. Rohmann’s block-print illustrations feature solid-shaped trucks in crayon-bright colors with loads of personality. Bulldozer looks tiny in comparison to the massive vehicles that dominate the double-page spreads. With each disappointment, Bulldozer is less visible until we only see him from behind, his blade dragging sadly in the dirt. ‘No games.’ He sniffed. ‘No friends. No party.’ Of course, there is a party; everyone has secretly been working on constructing a giant birthday cake, which Crane hoists up, candles blazing. Birthday surprises, cake, and construction vehicles — little bulldozers will lift their blades up high for this celebration. (Horn Book Magazine)