Whizzy Wheels Academy: Dylan the Dump Truck

An engaging story about a young truck learning his role and the boundaries on a construction site.
It begins with great charm and humour as we learn that Dylan the Dump Truck has a poor concentration span.
His lack of attention and poor listening leads not just to a misunderstanding but unnecessary risk and danger.
His instructor persists and when a strenuous task demands full concentration and effort, he monitors his young student closely. Dylan appears not to have convinced everyone he is worthy of such faith and his natural carefree approach will remain a liability in such a dangerous environment.

Many life lessons here.

The humanisation of cars and trucks means the duties and responsibilities of the vehicles should determine character and fitness for purpose. But it allows some scope for mischief.
Since Thomas the Tank Engine children have delighted in troublesome trucks and misbehaving engines.
So this is a clever approach to this tradition of story telling. Dylan is like many a less focused pupil in a classroom, and as with such children we expect some negative fallout. The twist in the story is well conceived and delivered with style and provides a lesson or two.
I particularly enjoyed the sense of character the illustrator achieved in these vehicles. The pastel shades worked well and the incidental detail was also fun.
These books have high aspirations in their approach and the learning outcomes desired.

One book does not a library, so look out for other titles too as the story has surely just begun.

Meanwhile I believe any parent would be happy to share Dylan’s story with their young ones.

I have a nephew named Dylan so maybe I'm biased, but it is my considered opinion that this book was far too cute not to like. I liked the scatterbrained Dylan. I can imagine Yoda remonstrating with Dylan as he did with Luke, "...never his mind on where he was, on what he was doing."

Dylan is constantly distracted and not paying attention. He hears 'race' instead of 'pace' and goes racing off. He's focused on a cat on a tree instead of keeping still so he can be loaded with sand, and ends up dumping the sand in the wrong place. But Dylan finally pulls it together and makes a major save, at last realizing that safety is the watchword on a building site.

I commend this book for a fun story by Bently and some colorful and attractive artwork by Chebret. It's entertaining, cute, and educational for that fidgety kid you might know!

My son and I enjoyed this book! Dylan acts like a lot of young children would - distracted by all the fun things the world has to offer. I think this book offers a great opportunity to discuss why we need to manage distractions and how to do it. The book does not actually provide the suggestions as far as the HOW, but it gives a clear illustration of the WHY. And, of course, what child can resist some trucks and construction machinery!

The illustrations are quite pretty, but the story is a bit so-so. I don't really want to read my toddler a story about reprimanding a young truck over and over. Honestly, if I'm reading the book and my toddler is paying attention... what's the point of the story?

I received this book free from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thanks!

This book follows Dylan the Dump Truck as he learns a lesson in paying attention. This is an important lesson al kids (and some adults) need to learn.

My 17 month old son loved this book. It was simple and easy language. The illustrations were colorful and fun.

I liked the colourful illustrations and the important lessons to be learned, however, it's not really explained why he couldn't concentrate at the beginning. It also seems as though the age of trucks are quite young and this doesn't fit with working at a construction site.

I received an electronic ARC from Quarto Publishing Group through NetGalley.
Board Book
Dylan learns a valuable lesson about paying attention. Several incidents happen when he doesn't listen. He saves Clare the Crane from falling in a trench on a construction site when he does pay attention.
Lesson on listening for toddlers and preschoolers. Young readers will love the vibrant colors and vehicles.

Dylan is a semi truck attending Whizzy Wheels Academy. He is a young truck who, along with his friends, is learning under the direction of Rusty the pick up truck. Dylan struggles to listen to his teacher because other things in the construction area are distracting him. After several mishaps, Dylan is able to help another classmate in danger, because he WAS paying attention.

Rusty, the teacher, looked a bit frustrated and even crabby. He had little patience for Dylan. I think attention span struggles are very common for kids and they need gentle guidance, not crabby correction.

The illustrations have a similar feel to the vehicles in the movie “Cars”. They aren’t quite as colorful and vibrant and the tone and style is a bit more muted.

I think this book was just ok. If your kids like books about vehicles, I think the Otis books by Loren Long have a bit more heart and staying power.

The vehicles were ready to practice driving at the Whizzy Wheels Academy. Dylan the Dump Truck couldn’t seem to pay attention to what was happening around him. He didn’t follow instructions and got distracted easily. He even dumped sand on Rusty when he failed to look where he was going. At last, Dylan stood still while Claire removed girders from his bed. Just as they were praising Dusty, he ran ahead. Only this time, he saved Claire instead of causing harm.

This book brings several messages to the story: following rules, listening, doing a good job and reacting when danger is seen while learning what construction vehicles do. The story is easy for children to relate to. Dylan gets into trouble for bad behavior but isn’t a bad truck.

The illustrations use primary colors and shapes. The vehicles show personalities though facial expressions.


I received an ARC from Quarto Publishing through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. This in no way affects my opinion or rating of this book.

The need to pay attention, stay focused, not get distracted and remain in the zone are phrases that most of us have heard and probably received and perhaps ignored. But the need for concentration is something that should be introduced in a child's life and this amusing book aims to do this through the actions of Dylan the dump truck as he learns that for such a large vehicle being absent minded is not really a good thing.

There is a clever usage of words when Dylan mistakes 'race' instead of 'pace' and the illustrations add to the enjoyment. Ultimately Dylan comes good and a useful lesson is learnt. I think this will appeal to the young child and make a nice bedtime read.

I read this book with my daughter as she loves, cars, trucks and diggers so it was right up her street! I thought that the images were nice and she enjoyed pointing out the different characters but when I went to read it to her for a second time she wasn’t as interested and she would normally love a book like this, I do agree that the story was not that catchy, it had a good morale to the story but I think it is one that is only read a couple of times - it is 3 stars from me

Cute little story with even cuter illustrations. Dylan is a great character.
Little boys, especially, would like this book.

The illustrations are adorable! A wonderful lesson for both adults and children about the value of listening and paying attention. I read with my 5.5 year old and he enjoyed reading about Dylan being a helper!

***Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review***

My nephew is named Dylan which is why I originally wanted to read this. It's a simple book geared toward young children, but it has a wonderful message.

"Whizzy Wheels Academy: Dylan the Dump Truck" by Peter Bently is a fun, beautiful picture book for kids. It connects with kids as it depicts a construction site with different trucks. The focus is on Dylan the dump truck. He has problems focusing and becomes easily distracted. With some effort he is able to save the day when he sees a crane who is about to fall.

There are some great lessons here to teach kids and the illustrations are engaging. This is a great book for toddlers ages 2-4 years old.

I received this eBook free of charge from Quarto Publishing Group – QEB via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review. I did not receive any fiscal compensation from either company for this review and the opinions expressed herein are entirely my own.

Now I know a young lad who would love this book! Whizzy Wheels Academy: Dylan the Dump Truck
by Peter Bently. I found this gook fun to read fun to read and is aimed at toddlers and preschoolers.
It full of great Illustrations throughout of all different kinds of Trucks etc. It's simple and colourful.

"You meet Dylan ........the dump truck - Whizzy Wheels Academy's latest recruit!
As you follow him around you learn about his important his job role as a construction vehicle especially what his job entails. Throughout Dylan's journey he learns all about himself and his capabilities. What Dylan overcomes challenges and learns a valuable lessons within this book in this delightful picture book."

Big Thank you to NetGalley and QEB Publishing for providing a digital ARC.

This book is aimed at toddlers and preschoolers. Young listeners will learn about Dylan's adventures on the work site. Dylan is eager and enthusiastic but...he does not always pay attention and sometimes hears something other than what is said. Will he be able to find his place on the work crew? Young listeners will find out in this story! The illustrations bring the vehicles to life and will undoubtedly appeal to children who like Thomas the Tank Engine.

A note...I had wondered when reading this book if there would be something explicit about Dylan having a learning disability but there really was not. Nonetheless adults could use the book as a jumping off point for discussion.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the book in exchange for an honest review.

This book tells the tale of a dump truck name Dylan who has a very hard time focusing and is easily distracted by the world around him. He is on a busy construction site where it is crucial that rules be followed precisely and instructions be adhered to exactly for the safety and well-being of every worker there.

Dylan has to learn that there are expectations for him to perform correctly and boundaries that he is not to cross. His lack of attention and poor listening skills may result in needless risks and be a danger to not only himself but to those working with him.

He must learn to pay attention and concentrate on the orders he has been issued. But is Dylan capable of doing that? Does he finally learn and prove that being absent minded is not a good thing and everyone on the work site is entitled to his best team effort of getting the job done safely and without incident. It is a great life lesson to teach little ones at an early age.

The metaphorical illustrations are simple, cartoon-like and kid friendly and the message is positive. Dylan is a role-model for taking responsibility for your own behaviour and in so doing changing it to make you a better person.

Lovely illustrations and the characters are ok, I get what the story is aiming for but I just couldn’t enjoy reading it to my little ones. I found it a bit basic and not entertaining almost patronising in its humour. My little one however, did enjoy it but I think that was because of the construction vehicles

Read this book 3+ times in a row, which is the ultimate compliment from a toddler's attention span. Good combo of teaching about the importance of listening, while still being a fun story.

Whizzy Wheels Academy: Dylan the Dump Truck by Peter Bently is a grate book for kids. The illustrations are fun and captivating. A child would not get bored reading this book.

My car-crazy two-year-old is the target audience for this cute book about paying attention. He loved the illustrations, which are colourful, sweet and child-friendly.
What I liked about the story was that it clearly showed why we need to pay attention and that we can ruin the work of others or even put them in danger, if we fail to focus on the right thing. For a young child like mine, a bit more repetition or a few catchphrases could have made the story clearer. It might also have been helpful to show a few tricks how to concentrate better on the task.
The characters were adorable and I would love to see the other titles in the series.
Thank you to NetGalley and QEB for the review copy provided in exchange for an honest opinion.

This book is great for multiple ages of readers. My kids age 9 and 6 both loved this book. I also used this to ask comprehension questions within my speech groups. The kids loved the illustrations and fun theme.