Smashy Town

PreS-Gr 2–In this lively sequel to Trashy Town, Mr. Gilly returns as an upbeat construction worker. Arriving at the work site in the morning, he climbs into his crane and starts clearing away old buildings. A catchy refrain that just begs to be chanted along accompanies every swing of his wrecking ball. “Go! Swing the ball, hit the wall! Smash, smash, smash! Swing the ball, hit the wall! Crash, crash, crash!” With each pass, Mr. Gilly breaks down brick, wood, glass, and stone, then clears away the rubble with a bulldozer. His job done, Mr. Gilly heads home, has his dinner, and goes to sleep. Endpapers show boarded-up buildings in the beginning and a newly built library and park at the end of the book. The pared-down graphic style of Yaccarino’s cheerful, minimalist illustrations perfectly matches the simple sentences and rollicking rhymes of the text. As in Trashy Town, Yaccarino includes a clever detail for sharp-eyed readers to find—this time, a pair of pigeons appearing in every scene of the book.