A pedal-to-the-metal tribute.
A salute to a unique feat of motoring—a week-long, nonstop round trip from San Diego to New York and back.
Lewis’ claim that auto mechanic Louie Mattar was “crazy for cars” from childhood on may understate the case. Soon after he got married, he bought a 1947 Cadillac and swiftly set about installing a shower and drinking fountain in his new “cream-colored, chrome-plated chariot.” Nor did the customizing stop there: The notion of a nonstop cross-country trip led him to add a toilet, washer and dryer, stove, TV, a trailer hauling additional gas, mechanisms for changing tires and oil on the go, and many other ingenious gadgets. He departed in September 1952. Driving in shifts with two pals and refueling on airport runways without stopping, he “revved through Roswell,” “sped through Saint Louis,” and eventually “cruised by the Chrysler Building,” then pulled a U-turn and “hightailed it all the way to Hollywood.” Exuberant alliterative language revs up the narrative, while Vila Delclòs’ illustrations, alight with a retro sensibility, depict the Fabulous Car going through its various incarnations and rolling past admiring throngs in large towns and small. Human figures may be indistinct, but both the automotive and architectural detailing is excellent. A brief reference to a second, even longer trip from Anchorage to Mexico City precedes a closing photo of the triumphant mechanic himself—standing on his running board and taking a shower. Match that, Tesla!
A pedal-to-the-metal tribute. (map, source lists) (Informational picture book. 6-9)Pub Date: Aug. 11, 2026
ISBN: 9781568463872
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Creative Editions/Creative Company
Review Posted Online: June 1, 2026
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2026
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era.
The New Orleans school child who famously broke the color line in 1960 while surrounded by federal marshals describes the early days of her experience from a 6-year-old’s perspective.
Bridges told her tale to younger children in 2009’s Ruby Bridges Goes to School, but here the sensibility is more personal, and the sometimes-shocking historical photos have been replaced by uplifting painted scenes. “I didn’t find out what being ‘the first’ really meant until the day I arrived at this new school,” she writes. Unfrightened by the crowd of “screaming white people” that greets her at the school’s door (she thinks it’s like Mardi Gras) but surprised to find herself the only child in her classroom, and even the entire building, she gradually realizes the significance of her act as (in Smith’s illustration) she compares a small personal photo to the all-White class photos posted on a bulletin board and sees the difference. As she reflects on her new understanding, symbolic scenes first depict other dark-skinned children marching into classes in her wake to friendly greetings from lighter-skinned classmates (“School is just school,” she sensibly concludes, “and kids are just kids”) and finally an image of the bright-eyed icon posed next to a soaring bridge of reconciliation. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A unique angle on a watershed moment in the civil rights era. (author and illustrator notes, glossary) (Autobiographical picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-338-75388-2
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Orchard/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: June 21, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 15, 2022
PERSPECTIVES
© Copyright 2026 Kirkus Media LLC. All Rights Reserved.
Follow
Popular in this Genre
We can’t wait for you to join Kirkus!
It’s free and takes less than 10 seconds!
Already have an account? Log in.
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
Welcome Back!
OR
Sign in with GoogleTrouble signing in? Retrieve credentials.
