To be fair, I never even thought about tractors… until I read this book! I Love Tractors, from Davina Bell and Jenny Løvlie, is much more than the love of tractors itself. It is really about a little boy who enjoys learning everything about his favourite subject. So he is always in search for books about it.
Little Frank’s favourite thing is to go to the library with his mum to borrow books about tractors. Mum is tired of those, she tries to convince Frank to change the subject a bit, try learning about trucks or trains or even perhaps submarines. But Frank’s mind is made up, he loves his tractors and his mum’s attempts to change it only makes him more excited to talk about them. ‘Why?’, she asks and Frankie replies ‘Thank you for asking’ because he even loves to explain why tractors are so special to him.
Being passionate about a specific subject is actually a very relatable thing. It could be ballet, football, bugs, or in my case dinosaurs, we all go through that phase when we are mad about something really particular. I remember collecting dinosaur toys, cards, stickers, and every time I went to a bookshop that was the subject that always ALWAYS drawn me. I still do it today.
The funny thing is that I never paid attention to tractors themselves, but I did pay good attention to children’s books from the seventies, and vehicles were pretty much featured in most of them. The design and grainy aspect of yellow and red prints of that particular style is brought back in this book, which I thought was a really nice touch. It brings a feel of old-school kid’s books from library shelves.
After listening to every factor about tractors and how they make them special to Frankie, his mum eventually gives in and lets him take his favourite book home. The librarian agrees that Frankie knows himself best and that he should get whatever he wants. It is an important reminder for parents to support their children’s choices in a bookshop or library.
