Jon Scieszka, a Polish-American children’s author, was recently named National Ambassador for Young People’s Literature by the Librarian of Congress. He has authored various children’s books, often collaborating with illustrator Lane Smith. For his newest book, Scieszka went down to the pre-school level and came out with a colorful and wonderfully animated book for children aged 4 to 8 years.

Smash! Crash! is the first in Simon and Schuster’s Trucktown series and tells the story of two best friends, Jack Truck and Dump Truck Dan, who loved to smash and crash anything they could find. They’re called deconstructionists. As the story unfolds, the pair meets other friends but this does not halt their crashing activities even when they have already been asked to stop. Eventually, the friends realize that they were being followed by a strange shadow with a booming voice.

Scieszka’s latest book was born out of his love for making kids laugh. This one is for those who love anything that comes with wheels. It boasts of attractive artwork by illustrators David Shannon, Loren Long, and David Gordon. The illustrations are bright and colorful and can easily attract children’s attention and interest. Gregory Cowles, of The New York Times’ Sunday Book Review, points out that though parents will find the story a little lacking in depth, the children will have fun reading it.

The book also encourages activity so that it inspires them to enjoy reading while playing.

Scieszka, whose other noted works for children include The Stinky Cheese Man and Other Fairly Stupid Tales and the Time Warp series, uses big, bold, attractive text and introduces fun characters like Payloader Pete, Gabriella Garbage Truck, and Wrecker Rosie.

Smash! Crash! has been on the Times’ Bestseller list for 2 months.