News!
Welcome to the website of me, Sam Clarke - Children's Author! My debut picture book, PINK TRUCKS, was released in April 2024! It features amazing full-colour illustrations by the magnificent Cory Reid and is published by the lovely people at Five Quills.
It has 32 pages, is approximately 25cm by 26cm (bigger than a postcard but smaller than most TVs) and more than 200 (two hundred!) words. Do let me know what else you might want to know about it...?
But what's it actually about, Sam? Well, read on below...
Pink Trucks is about Stink, a young boy with a love of trucks and a love of the colour pink. But when he decides he wants a pink truck, he finds it harder to find one than he'd hoped.
If you'd like to buy it, you can from one of these lovely independent trucks...
Story Smith Books
Bookhaus
Bookshop.org
Other excellent independent trucks may also stock it of course. Or you can get it from one of these big trucks if you'd prefer...
Amazon
Waterstones
To avoid any confusion, when I say trucks I mean shops (apart from in the book).
Reviews
Now Pink Trucks has been published many people have been very kind and provided a review! You can read some of them below (and some more on Instagram here.) Perhaps you'd like to review it yourself?
This warm story gently challenges normative expectations of gender roles and play in a non-confrontational way. The rhyming text drives the story forward with good momentum and the creators have made clever use of fonts and placement to add vibrancy. The illustrations are detailed and are sure to engage young readers with a passion for transport themes. A great book to spark healthy discussion about the social aspects of play choices.
The story is easy and enjoyable to read aloud, with repeated descriptive phrases about the trucks that young children can join in with. Using fun, appropriate humour, the text is engaging while introducing themes that children face in their play such as the stereotyping of colour and toys. Stink's resolution in the conclusion is empowering for children, demonstrating that they have the means to solve a problem in a creative way.
Pink Trucks is an engaging read-aloud book that will surely capture the attention and imagination of young children – especially those who are fond of vehicles! The illustrations are bright and detailed, even down to the endpapers which are packed with several types of truck.
This charming story sends a lovely message about being unafraid to voice your views and not be swayed by the opinions of others. Young readers will love joining in with the rhyming text and the use of onomatopoeia. Pink Trucks is sure to be a great addition to bookshelves at home and at school.