Joe Mathieu

This informative book follows Big Joe during a typical day as a tractor trailer driver. I like this book for a couple of reasons, but found it a bit dated. To start, the story is believable and relates to any child that is interested in trucks. The first two full pages of the book contain a detailed cut-away drawing of the truck with about thirty labels. I also like how the illustrations completely fill the pages, but incorporate light or white areas for the text. When Big Joe goes to the service garage, the text is conveniently placed in the bright bay door opening. The book is gives a good sense of how trucks operate, but is dated. An example of this is when the dispatcher gives Big Joe maps to help him navigate. In reality, he'd probably be using GPS.… (more)