Trashy Town

Rating:
Summary: An instant favorite
Review: About the best thing to be said about any children's book is that your children ask for it to be read over and over again.

From the moment I brought "Trashy Town" home, my three year old son could not get enough of it. The repetitive, but clever text by Andrea Zimmerman and David Clemesha begs for the kids to interact with trash collector Mr. Gilly as he cheerfully makes his appointed rounds about the trashy town. And for parents, this book lets you run with the sing-song quality of the text and make this a fun read.

But the story would be only a story without the minimalist illustrations of Dan Yaccarino (of TV's "Oswald" the Octopus fame on Nick Jr.) Yaccarino captures the dirty work with his signature painting style, giving "Trashy Town" a bold graphic look that youngsters love.

An absolutely perfect book for the under five crowd.

Rating:
Summary: pick it up, smash it down
Review: From the catchy refrain to the charming artwork by Dan Yaccarino, this book is a delight. Mr. Gilly goes through town picking up trash everywhere, and at the end of the story, he's the last thing that needs cleaning. My 2 1/2 year old loved this book immediately, requesting rereads 20 times. That is a great sales pitch and one worthy of noting. This book will catch your young one's attention immediately--it's that good.

Rating:
Summary: My Two Year Old Son Loves It!
Review: I am tired of "little boy" books that are just picture after picture of trucks with little or no story. They aren't any fun to read. Trashy Town, a story about a trashman, is a joy! My 4 yr. old daughter likes it too, but I wouldn't agree the age range of 4-8. This is a great book for the 2-5 crowd.

Rating:
Summary: Highly Entertaining
Review: I can't say enough good things about this book. I got this book for my son when he was about fourteen months old (he's now 2 1/2) He has loved it from the begining. First because it was about garbage trucks and then because of its entertaining repetitiveness. Soon we would hear him shout "Stop! Mr. Gilly emptied all the cans from behind the doctors office". Now he can practically read this book to us by looking at the pictures. Great fun for the whole family!

Rating:
Summary: I love to clean up Trashy Town!
Review: Okay....this book is for toddlers, but I have been reading it to my 4-month old infant for weeks now. He LOVES it. I think it is the simple illustrations and the sing-song quality that really catch his attention. I often say "Dump it in, smash it down, drive around the Trashy Town!" even when we aren't reading the book and he smiles every time. I will look for more books by this author and illustrator, and I would recommend Mr. Gilly and Trashy Town to children (and even infants) of all ages.

Rating:
Summary: I love to clean up Trashy Town!
Review: Okay....this book is for toddlers, but I have been reading it to my 4-month old infant for weeks now. He LOVES it. I think it is the simple illustrations and the sing-song quality that really catch his attention. I often say "Dump it in, smash it down, drive around the Trashy Town!" even when we aren't reading the book and he smiles every time. I will look for more books by this author and illustrator, and I would recommend Mr. Gilly and Trashy Town to children (and even infants) of all ages.

Rating:
Summary: Not my favorite...
Review: This book is just okay. I think it may be one of those stories that children like much better than adults, so I'm giving it 3 stars instead of 2. The age group listed is definitely wrong: this book is geared toward the 2 to 4 year-old set, not 4 to 8. My son is 4 and he enjoys it, but he's at the point where I look for books that are somewhat more sophisticated in language & complexity. (This would have been perfect when he was two). The graphic artwork is cool and the "dump it in, smash it down!" refrain is catchy, but the story is boring and repetitive. Mr. Gilly drives around town on his route, showing where trash needs to be picked up (the pizza parlor, the doctor's office, etc.) and the reader gets to answer the question, "Is the truck full yet? No!" for about half a dozen stops. When it's full, the trash is dumped , and Mr. Gilly goes home & takes a bath-- end of story. I was disappointed, but I mostly blame the book being placed in the wrong age category. For the preschool set, check out David Kirk's "Trashy Town."

Rating:
Summary: One of the best!
Review: Trashy Town is my three-year-old son's favorite book. Evan loves to read along as Mr. Gilly, the garbage man travels around town, stopping at all the cool places to empty the trash into his big trash truck. With it's simple, repetative verse, Evan quickly was able to identify many of the words in the text and before long was "reading" the story to me. We've read it so much, that Evan now has it memorized and can literally recite it and I often hear him doing so at night in the darkness of his bedroom. Even so, niether of us have grown bored of this delightful story as we have with so many other books. These days,Evan often embellishes the story, such as "Mr. Gilly goes home . . . and makes dinner!" "Mr. Gilly stops to fix the broken swings in the park." Trashy town also inspires creative (and constructive) play. Evan dons his "heavy gloves" -- my gardening gloves, socks, whatever's handy -- and sets out to clean up his own trashy town, the playroom. It's a good read before bathtime as well, since it ends with Mr. Gilly taking a bath. As wonderful as the story is, the best part of the book is Dan Yaccarino's magical illustrations. I bought this book sight unseen based soley on his name. We already had several books illustrated and/or written by this incredibly talented artist. His vivid pictures appeal to both child and parent. Evan sees himself in every portrait. I recommend this book for any child who rises early on collection day to catch a glimpse of the garbage truck. It's not just for little kids. My five year old nephew loves it too!

Rating:
Summary: trashy town was our chicka chicka boom boom dvd bonus
Review: What a neat little story! Our 3 year old boy loves it, more than the ABC Chicka Boom story. We bought the chicka dvd and got trashy town animated on dvd without expecting it. Now its his favorite. We go around all day saying "is the trash truck full YET!'. Highly recommended.

Rating:
Summary: For Your Little Truck Enthusiast!
Review: What a wonderful find! I first borrowed this book from our local library, and ended up purchasing it. My son fell in love with it immediately. I read it to him the first few times, and then he began joining in the fun. His favorite thing to do was yell "stop!", "no!" and "yes!" while pointing to the appropriate words. So, not only are the colorful illustrations entertaining and bright, but the book can also help your child start to recognize simple words! I would highly recommned this book to everyone!