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Pluck has a little red tow truck. He drives it all over town looking for a place to live. Then Dolly the pigeon tells him that the tower of the Pill Building is empty. In the Pill Building, Pluck meets Mr. Penn and Zaza the cockroach. Pluck makes lots more friends and solves all kinds of problems. But the biggest problem is Dove Grove. It used to be a garden with tall trees, but it has been neglected and gone wild. Grown-ups never go there, but the kids from the Pill Building love playing show more there. But now the Park Superintendent has decided to chop down the trees to make a paved square. Pluck and his friends try to save Dove Grove. But first he has to rescue Longmount from the canal. show less

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27 reviews
This book was provided to me as a digital review copy by the publisher, via Edelweiss, in exchange for an honest review.

Tow-Truck Pluck was originally published as a weekly serial in a Dutch magazine in the late 60s, and was published as a book in 1971. It is still known as one of the most popular Dutch children’s books ever, and I can see why. This is a wacky little book, and it took me a minute to get into the flow of the story, but once I did, I was invested. You have Pluck, who, by all accounts, is a young boy who lives on his own and drives a tow truck. There are other child characters, but they all have traditional child roles, with parents and childlike responsibilities and actions. I don’t know how to explain the character show more dynamics of this book, except to say that Pluck will do anything for a person or animal in need, and because of that, his friends will do anything for him. Animals can talk, have wooden legs, be limousine long, and captain ferries. Problems are resolved with solutions that are fantastical and way out of the box. The creativity is mind-boggling. Pluck is unkind once, but he tries to make things right. I would recommend this book to kids who appreciate whimsy and enjoy reading stories that are set in a less technologically advanced time. show less
Ik heb dit boek heel lang geleden voorgelezen gekregen, maar het is mij wel bijgebleven. Dat geeft aan dat het een goed boek is. Het heeft grappige personages. En de dieren kunnen praten, hiervoor heb je dus wel je fantasie nodig. Daarnaast heeft het mooie illustraties. Hier hou ik persoonlijk altijd wel van. Dit maakt het boek voor mij namelijk interessanter. Ook is het boek een avontuurlijk verhaal. Dit vind ik altijd een leuk genre om uit te lezen. Ook al is de hoofdpersonage een jongen, het boek blijft leuk om te lezen voor jongens en meisjes.
Ontzettend leuke verhalen die veel herinneringen van vroeger terug brengen. Er zitten optimistische, belangrijke en dierenvriendelijke boodschappen in die kinderen goed doen om te weten. Het taalgebruik is een beetje ouderwets, maar zeker leerzaam én begrijpelijk voor het jonge kind van nu.
Ik vind het een leuk boek, leest gemakkelijk en lijkt mij heel leuk om voor te lezen, vooral omdat er een hoop plaatjes in zitten. Voor kinderen is het ook leuk omdat het toch verschillende verhaaltjes zijn maar ook wel weer overloopt op elkaar. Wel vond ik het een dik en lang boek waar je ook weer even de tijd voor moet nemen. Maar ik snap dat dit een klassieker is, ik heb dit vroeger ook zelf voorgelezen gekregen en stond ook nog in onze kast. En het is zeker op een goeie en kindvriendelijke manier geschreven
Erg leuke verhalen over Pluk van de Petteflet, zelfs ik vond het nog leuk om te lezen, voor kinderen helemaal. Je wordt echt meegenomen in de verhalen en de ervaringen van Pluk. Ik heb dit boek veel gelezen in de bus op weg naar school.
Tow-Truck Pluck is the story of a small boy with now parents, family or history. He has no home so when he finds a room in the tower of the Pitt building, he moves in. Each chapter is a story in itself. Pluck meets many of the residents of the Pitt building, some kind, some not so kind, some strange but all interesting. Along with the people he meets, he also meets and helps animals such as ZaZa the cockroach, Dizzy the squirrel and Longmount the horse. Pluck is always willing to help his neighbours and they all love him except for Mrs. Brightner, the lady with the spraycan who is a clean freak. She does not allow her daughter, Aggie, to go outside because she will get dirty. There are other children in the building that Pluck meets and show more befriends as well as his pigeon friend Dolly.

Each adventure can be read as a bedtime story or it can be read as a book with chapters in one continuous story. Pluck is a delightful boy who manages to be of help to all his neighbors, be they human or animal, and slowly find his place in society. His adventures on fun with a message in each such as helping others etc. The illustrations are delightful. They are colourful with a lot of emotions emitted from the characters. This book was translated from Dutch but it is easy to read and could become a family favourite. The publisher generously provided me with a copy of this book via netgalley.
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een fantastisch leuk kinderboek dat ik zelf in mijn jeugd voorgelezen heb gekregen

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Author Information

Picture of author.
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Some Editions

Westendorp, Fiep (Illustrator)

Awards and Honors

Common Knowledge

Canonical title
Tow-Truck Pluck
Original title
Pluk van de Petteflet
Original publication date
1971
People/Characters*
Pluk; Aagje Helderer; Mevrouw Helderder; Karel de meeuw; Dollie de duif; Duizeltje (show all 20); Vader Stamper; de Stampertjes; de Majoor; Langhors; Meneer Pen; De Lispeltuut; de Parkarchitect; Liezebetje; de krullevaar; de portier; de heen-en-weerwolf; de kluizelaar; Zaza de kakkerlak; de burgemeester
Important places*
de Petteflet; Egwijk aan Zee; de torteltuin; de Waas
Related movies
Pluk van de petteflet (2004 | IMDb)
First words
Pluk had een klein rood kraanwagentje.
Last words*
(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)En boven hen vlogen Dollie en Karel.
Original language
Dutch
Canonical DDC/MDS
839.31364
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.

Classifications

Genres
Children's Books, Fiction and Literature
DDC/MDS
839.31364Literature & rhetoricGerman & related literaturesOther Germanic literaturesNetherlandish literaturesDutchDutch fiction20th Century1945-1999
LCC
PZ13 .S394Language and LiteratureFiction and juvenile belles lettresFiction and juvenile belles lettresJuvenile belles lettres
BISAC

Statistics

Members
603
Popularity
48,275
Reviews
25
Rating
(4.23)
Languages
9 — Afrikaans, Dutch, English, Estonian, German, Hungarian, Polish, Russian, Spanish
Media
Paper, Audiobook
ISBNs
29