Tractor Mac Teamwork

by Billy Steers

Overview

All the vehicles and animals on Stonybrook Farm are enlisted to help build a new swimming hole for their town's residents. It is a big job, but Tractor Mac and his pals are willing to lend a hand. But a tractor named Deke thinks he can do it all by himself--and do it better than everyone else. He soon learns that a complex job is done best when each member of a team does his or her part.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781466895836
Publisher:	Farrar, Straus and Giroux
Publication date:	05/10/2016
Series:	Tractor Mac Series
Sold by:	Macmillan
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
File size:	94 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	2 - 5 Years

About the Author

Billy Steers is an author, illustrator, and commercial pilot. In addition to the Tractor Mac series, he has worked on forty other children's books. Mr. Steers had horses and sheep on the farm where he grew up in Connecticut. Married with three sons, he still lives in Connecticut.
Billy Steers is an author, illustrator, and commercial pilot. In addition to the Tractor Mac series, he has worked on forty other children's books. Mr. Steers raised horses and sheep on the farm where he grew up in Connecticut. Married with three sons, he still lives in Connecticut.

Editorial Reviews

Tractor Mac, the wise farm machine owned by Farmer Bill, helps create a community swimming pond in this installment of Billy Steers’ highly popular “Tractor Mac” series for preschool children. His friends, Sibley the horse, Doug the steam shovel, Carl the bulldozer, and Daisy (a human with a tiny red tractor), divide up the work to create the new pond—hauling, digging, raking, and grading. Things are going along well until Deke, the know-it-all, I-can-do-it-better-than-anyone, Tractor rumbles in and tells each worker that he can do whatever they are doing, better. Wise Tractor Mac tries to discuss getting along with others, but Deke gruffly brushes him off and continues doing-it-all without paying attention to the supports surrounding the pond that he’s about to tear down. Deke tumbles and flips underwater along with the structure while the friends gather around to save him. Deke sheepishly realizes that he should have let everyone handle his or her own small jobs as part of a large project. Tractor Mac invites Deke to create the beach area surrounding the community swimming pond and he happily accepts. Reminiscent of the “Thomas the Tank Engine” series with its group of big-eyed machine characters and David Shannon’s Duck on a Tractor, this is a pleasant read with a glimpse into farm life and a charming lesson about camaraderie. Endpapers have line drawings of Doug the Steam Shovel and Tractor Mac and feature callouts of all the vehicle’s moving parts. Reviewer: Debra Lampert-Rudman; Ages 2 to 5.

Children's Literature - Debra Lampert-Rudman

05/01/2016
PreS-Gr 1—An entry in this character education series on teamwork. In this story, farmer Bill has volunteered to make a community swimming pond, and all of his friends must pitch in to work on this project. Vignettes and spreads fill each page as each member has a special job to do. Problems arise when Deke the tractor feels "I'm the best at building everything!" and decides to take over and complete everyone's tasks. Instead of helping his friends, he criticizes them. Soon, all of the team has stopped working and Deke is left to complete the project. Disaster ensues as Deke hits a water shoot and gets trapped in a mud pit. The team must come together and rescue their friend. Endpages offer a diagram of the different parts of a tractor and steam shovel. Drawings are in muted hues, giving the story a retro feel. VERDICT Purchase as an additional picture book on character education and for fans of Thomas the Tank Engine, who might enjoy this series.—Melissa Smith, Royal Oak Public Library, MI

School Library Journal