Tag Archives: trucker stories

07/27/12

Tyler Triplets Love Grandpa and the Truck

“Who are those adorable kids?” you ask….

They say “A picture’s worth a thousand words,” or “The proof is in the pudding,” and I say:  “Folks, we couldn’t stage this—believe me.”  See the little ones in the big banner picture atop the site?  They’re the sons of a daughter’s co-worker enjoying Book 1 of the Grandpa and the Truck stories.  It just helps a lot that these Tyler triplets are adorable!

Look at the expression…pure enjoyment as they follow the adventures of Grandpa as a young trucker, when he trekked all across the United States in his truck “Proud Mary.” What happens in Story 1?  Well, little ones learn the wisdom of independent thinking (no, I don’t put it that way in the story) as they follow a chain of cars following a “smokie” (“policeman” in trucker lingo) on a fog-enshrouded highway. This story will teach them to think before they blindly follow.

In Book 1, Story 2 (each book contains two stories), excitement is ramped up even more when Grandpa’s trucking partner goes off into the Virginia woods after dark and falls into a pack of bloodhounds.  The merry chase is on, as Ralph races down a moonlit path yelling “Paul, open the truck door…they’re after me!”

When I’m reading the story and get to the part where the dogs are at Ralph’s butt, the little ones convulse in laughter.

All good, wholesome fun…teaching good things…with remarkable illustrations sure to get little ones’ imaginations running (But, I swear:  It looks like the Tyler tykes are actually reading–at least the middle one! Considering they’re only 4, that’s pretty amazing!)

In approximately three weeks, Book 2 will be released containing “Girl Truckers” about two Rhode Island women who became a long-haul trucking sensation and “Grandpa Meets the Hurricane” where little ones will learn about one of Nature’s most powerful forces.

“Stay tuned…good buddies.”

PS…Some have said, “But I don’t have little ones 4-8 years of age.”  The answer to this?  Grandpa and the Truck stories make great gifts for little ones in the 4-8 age group, so if you have event coming down the pike where you’ll need, they make unique, personalized gifts. Or you could stockpile in case you will need and avoid rushing out for that last-minute gift.

Not sure your little ones will like? Just look at the faces of the little boys in the banner picture…There is no better testimony.

See you soon when I tell you more about the trucker…the model behind this series…things you probably don’t know, even if you think you know him.

07/17/12

What It Means When a Trucker Says “Breaker..Breaker…1…9?”


Are your little ones going around the house, yet, saying “Breaker…breaker…1…9?”

Well, believe me—they will be, if they’re reading the Grandpa and the Truck stories.  Why?  They’ll hear it, in Book 1, Story 1 (every G&T book has two stories) and then they’ll mimic Grandpa (as younger trucker,) talking on his CB radio.

In that story, he goes along a fog-bound mountain highway in northern California, sitting high in the big rig. Up ahead, he sees a long line of cars following a ‘smokie’ (trucker lingo for policeman).  All the drivers believe they’re safe because they figure the police officer knows the road, well, and if they just follow him, they’ll be safe, too.

But that isn’t what happens.  No, instead, they suffer a major mash-up.

When he sees the accident (don’t worry—it’s not frightful), Grandpa gets on his CB (Citizen Band radio all truckers use) and calls out, “Breaker…Breaker 1..9” then waits for a response.

You see, when a trucker says this, he or she is asking permission to break into the conversation other truckers are having on their Citizen Band (CB) radios, on Channel 19.

Truckers operate in a very different world from the rest of us and my trucker husband and I (along with our illustrator) plan on driving that world home to all…. through the Grandpa and the Truck stories for little children.

After all (some of you know this already,) a big rig driver’s #1 fans are little kids.  They just love our trucks.

Now, they can ride along with one of the best who was a legend in his day.  His stories are those of all long-distance truckers, we they go about their difficult job of moving America’s products.

***So, the question is:  “Is your little one saying ‘Breaker…breaker..1…9 yet?”

Just wait—he or she will be. 

05/18/12

“Grandpa and the Truck” Stories for Kids: A Tribute to the American Trucker

 

For latest updates to how we’re doing as we get the word out about Grandpa and the Truck Stories, scroll down.  It’s there, I give running updates…

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Truckers are key to the American Success Story. How?  They transport every product we use in our daily lives.

The “Grandpa and the Truck” stories focus on the career experiences of one of them.  Written for kids ages 4-8, they show what truckers deal with via Mother Nature, crazy drivers, and tough road conditions.

They teach important life lessons as well.

The stories are based on the career of veteran, long-haul trucker Paul Wesley Gates, one of Atlas Van Lines’s “Elite Fleet” of drivers who logged millions of miles without accident.

He drove the big rigs for 30 years, clear across America, from Canada in the north, to the Gulf region in the south, and from his home port of Rhode Island on the east coast, to Washington State, in the west.

And in that job, he became expert at many things: how to run a business…how to interact with people..how to deal with emergencies. He met extraordinary folks and faced almost-insurmountable tasks.

But he is forever grateful for a job that taught him much about life and exposed him to the wonder of America with its diversity, amazing geography, and the goodness of its people.

His stories are from the perspective of “Grandpa,” and they’re the tales he told me.  Then, I told them to our 3 grandchildren.

But make no mistake:  Grandpa’s tales are the stories of all truckers as they go about their business every day—moving America.

For that reason, Grandpa’s stories are a tribute to them all.

Colleen Kelly Mellor (author of “Grandpa and the Truck” Stories and wife to this trucker)