My son James is not quite 2, but has fallen in love with trucks. Pickup trucks, tractor-trailers, fire engines. You name, it’s a truck. Driving down the road with him in his car seat has become quite the adventure as he continually calls out, “truck, daddy, truck!”

Books are another favorite of his right now, particularly, you guessed it, books about trucks. So it was with great interest that I was given a review copy of a new book, “Brutus, the Big Red Truck,” written by Kyle Rose and illustrated by Allan Rea.

Rose and Rea are employees at Navistar’s International Truck assembly plant in Springfield, OH. The book is a simply story about Brutus, a shiny red truck and the different trucks Brutus encounters on his daily journey. At first, Brutus sees the trucks as different and envious of him, but after an accident leaves Brutus in the ditch, he realizes the important roles the different trucks play.

“The feedback has been great,” said Rose. “The kids really seem to get the message, and it’s rewarding to know our little book is helping to encourage respect for one another at such an important time in life.”

Using the book as a basis, Navistar has begun outreach programs at local elementary schools, distributing copies of the book and facilitating discussions with children about the real-life applications in the book’s lessons.

The book can be purchased for $4 at http://internationaltruck.com/shop or you can read an online copy here.

I know one child who will want to read it over, and over, and over again.