Review Detail

The Splish-Splash Puddle Dance!: Ready to Read Level 1 (Tow on the Go!)

Kids Fiction 304

Mambo in the Mud!

December 25, 2023

Overall rating

5.0

Plot

5.0

Characters

5.0

Writing Style

5.0

Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)

5.0

On a rainy day, Race Car Ro is out frolicking in a field. The fresh puddles are enticing, and he starts to splash in them. Unfortunately, one is deeper than the others, and he gets stuck! Calling on Tow Truck Mo to come and rescue him, Ro hopes to be freed soon. Mo starts to hook his crane to Ro's undercarriage, but Ro is so ticklish that he has to stop. He tried to use his lasso to pull the race car out, but Ro has sunk too deep in the mud for him to reach. Mo has music on his radio, and when he starts to mambo with Ro, the two manage to free him from the mud. The rescue accomplised, the two spend some time splashing in the puddles as they sing and dance.

Good Points

Cars and trucks are fascinating to many young readers, and race cars are the best, especially when they are revving their engines. This is a good lesson in being careful; Ro should have definitely assessed the puddles more carefully. He's lucky to have his good friend Mo who can come to rescue him, even if it is a difficult process.

Seasonal books are always a good choice for preschool children, who are still learning about the seasons and the weather. The first book in this series, The Mambo rescue, has a winter theme, so Mo's fans will be glad to see him back in this spring romp. The pastel colors in the background after the rain clears and Ro is rescued are a nice constrast to the gray, rainy scenes when Ro is stuck! Mo is often surrounded by swirls of stars of musical notes that give a nice fantasy element to these stories; cars can't really mambo their way out of difficult situations, but they also don't have Mo's broad grin!

Emerging readers who enjoy being read to while running Matchbox cars over the pages, and who found titles like Alexander's Mini Mighty Sweeps or Van Dusen's Big Truck, Little Island amusing will enjoy Mo and his antics, but be prepared to adapt the text into a musical format so that this book can be sung with appropriate fervor!