School Library Journal Starred Review (Fri Aug 01 00:00:00 CDT 2008)

PreS-K No construction detail is ignored in this rhythmic read-aloud that takes readers from the "Ping! Bang! Tap!" of the groundbreaking to the "Toot! Honk! Vroom!" of the new road's opening. Extensive use of action verbs and onomatopoeic exclamations guide youngsters through packing the ground, rolling the tar, raising the signs, and even planting trees along the side of the route. Angular road linesreminiscent of Donald Crews's illustrations of popular machinestraverse each spread, often guiding viewers' eyes in the direction of the next page. Interestingly, the many multiethnic workers depicted in the attractive ink illustrations seem as cool as cucumbers despite their noisy laboring. A picture glossary of roadwork machines is a great finishing touch to this dynamic title. Madeline Walton-Hadlock, San Jose Public Library, CA

ALA Booklist (Sun Jun 01 00:00:00 CDT 2008)

"Move the earth. Move the earth. Dig and cut and push. Clear a pathway for the road. Screech! Boom! Whoosh!" Big machines, and their drivers, are the stars in this chanting, rhyming picture book that describes how a road is made, and then, once the tar is sealed, how it is made safe for travelers with painted lines, signs, and streetlamps. The words pound with the sound and rhythm of the vehicles they describe, and preschoolers will delight in shouting out the noisy exclamations ("Whizz! Slop! Splurt!") that end each page. The large, clear print and basic vocabulary will extend the audience to new readers, who will also appreciate that the action described in the words is clearly illustrated in Lovelock's bright, uncluttered ink pictures of the glorious vehicles, their drivers (including a few women), and the community that enjoys the finished road. An easy sell to kids who love to watch machines at work, this will pair nicely with Kate and Jim McMullan's I Stink! (2002) and Kate Banks' The Night Worker (2000).

Horn Book (Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2009)

With clamorous rhymes and onomatopoeia, this book shows how a road is constructed, from surveying and digging to landscaping and lunch breaks. The roles of the vehicles, each responsible for a different phase of construction, are explained at the end. Pigmented ink illustrations feature flecks of color that echo the messiness of real roadwork.

Kirkus Reviews

Sutton's latest is a truck-lover's dream come true—repetition, rhyme and onomatopoeia form the text, while construction trucks vie for readers' attention in the illustrations. The result is a wonderfully noisy look at how roads are built. From a line on a map and an empty field to the finished road complete with lights and signs, youngsters will be able to follow all the steps, learning all the vehicles that take part in the process (a final page introduces readers to each one). "Pack the ground. Pack the ground. / Roll one way, then back. / Make the roadbed good and hard. / Clang! Crunch! Crack!" Lovelock's debut certainly makes an impression. His pigmented ink illustrations keep the focus on the machines and the individual parts they play in building the road. The level of detail matches the text's intended audience—enough to satisfy, not so much as to overwhelm. Pave the way to this book's shelf; perfect for read-alouds, it will be a hit whether shared with a group or one-on-one. (Picture book. 2-5)

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

Kids who love trucks and construction will find an ideal vehicle for their passions in this exuberant book from New Zealand, which uses full-bleed art and rhyming text to show how each of seven machines functions in the building of a road. Sutton's rhythms invite audience participation, as do the sound effects that end each verse: “Plan the road. Plan the road./ Mark it on the map./ Hammer in the marking pegs./ Ping! <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Bang!<EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">Tap!” Using ink, acrylics and colored pencils, Lovelock conjures artful landscapes with visible brushwork, reserving a speckling effect not unlike concrete for the road. These subtle embellishments in the background set off his clean, precise renderings of the construction trucks, which serve as de facto main characters. The last page supplies more information about the machines and how they work. Ages 2–5. <EMPHASIS TYPE=""ITALIC"">(July)