Meet the author

Phuc Tran.

Writer · United States

Phuc Tran: American writer whose picture-book debut Cranky is a warm, funny read-aloud about a grumpy crane truck and the friends who take his big feelings seriously.

Phuc Tran is a writer based in Portland, Maine, who makes his picture-book debut with Cranky. The story stars a crane truck having a thoroughly bad day on the last shift at a construction site, one who absolutely does not want to talk about it, and the patient friends who learn that cheering someone up is harder than telling them to smile. Paired with bestselling illustrator Pete Oswald's big, bold, expressive trucks, Tran's snappy, funny text takes young children's big feelings seriously, gently showing that everyone has cranky days and that honesty beats a forced grin. It is the opening title in the Cranky and Friends stories, a warm, read-aloud-friendly start to a new picture-book series about naming difficult emotions.