Mighty Truck

PreS-Gr 2—Clarence is an ordinary, dusty four-wheeler, until a truck wash during a lightning storm transforms him into an extraordinary, "really, wheely powerful" superhero. No one recognizes this glistening, "shiny-clean stranger" who comes to the aid of those in need. With a turbo-charged push, he gets his friend Bruno out of a mud jam. He revs his engine and rescues a kitten stuck in a tree, and he even scales tall buildings with his inflated tires and saves the town from impending doom by welding a falling steel girder with his headlight laser beams. Back down on the ground, covered in dirt again, Clarence doesn't reveal his alter ego, content in knowing that transformation is "only a wash away." Cummings's bright cartoons are full of energy and excitement, and the monster vehicle's emotions are written all over his windshield.