ALA Booklist (Thu Feb 01 00:00:00 CST 2018)

Early in the morning, food-truck crews arrive at the depot to load their groceries and prepare for a festival. "Some trucks / have ovens, / others have grills. / They're kitchens / on wheels / without the frills." As the trucks drive off, the scene shifts to a home where two children and their parents pack up the car. After a ferry ride, they arrive at the food-truck fest and join a happy crowd, eating tasty treats and listening to music. Later, the trucks return to the depot, and the family returns to their home. This attractive picture book offers kids an appealing vicarious outing. The rhyming text sets the scene and outlines the action, while the vivid artwork brings the words to life through well-chosen details. Kids will particularly enjoy the behind-the-scenes glimpses of action inside the truck's small kitchens. The book's large format offers ample space for the illustrations, which include scenes with long-range perspective as well as images of the children, the cooks, and the menu items. A satisfying picture book.

Kirkus Reviews

Vivid details highlight the workers and dining fans who make up a local food-truck festival scene.For it all to happen, the food-truck owners must gather, prepare, cook, and transport it all, which turns out to be a lot more work than kids might expect. That work is presented in clear explanations that demystify what's behind those serving windows. "They're kitchens on wheels, without the frills," it's explained, and similarly, the book's text is stripped down into simple rhyming couplets. The story of how the trucks get to the fest is shown in parallel to a family's preparations to attend. Though it seems meant to build anticipation and give the child's view on things, the family members aren't named and do little more than rush. But that doesn't matter because the illustrations and knowledgeable text keep the attention focused on the variety of the trucks and the work done by the people who run them. By the time readers get to the fest, with trucks with names such as "Pho Sho" and "Slow Your Roll" (eggrolls, of course), it's obvious that food blogger Penfold's knowledge is coming through. The illustrations pack in a big, wide range of people, from customers to chefs to musicians, convincingly creating a vibrant community brought together by the variety of things they love to eat. (The focal family is pale-skinned.)Will very likely make young readers yearn for a big foodie event like the one depicted. (Picture book. 4-7)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

-Some trucks have ovens, others have grills./ They-re kitchens on wheels, without the frills,- writes Penfold (The Littlest Viking) as food trucks gather on an island for a festival. After caravanning to their destination, the trucks set up shop, offering traditional fare (-Folks settle down with their hot dogs and ices,/ burritos, kebabs, pretzels, and slices-) as well as offerings for diehard foodies (-Kimchi tacos, that-s no illusion./ Korean and Mexican make a tasty fusion-). And nobody minds the long lines because there are plenty of free samples. The story ostensibly follows one family-s journey to the fair, but within a few pages the panoply of eccentrically styled trucks (including one named -Pho Sho- and a fish taco truck with a surfboard on top), their hipster crews, and the multicultural, multigenerational crowd become the real stars. Dutton-s high-spirited illustrations capture the expansive exuberance of a collective day out, and his crafty, cut-out aesthetic feels right on the mark for this down-to-earth, artisanal cuisine and its scrappy, hardworking purveyors. Ages 2-6. Author-s agent: Susan Ginsburg, Writers House. Illustrator-s agent: Marietta Zacker, Gallt & Zacker Literary. (Mar.)