A lively ode to play and to things that go vrooom.
A child playing with a toy car takes an imaginative road trip.
The onomatopoeic title captures the fervency with which some children love their toy cars. “This is how I drive my car,” the book opens, showing readers a steering wheel as if looking at it from the driver’s seat. Off races a red car on the next spread with a “VROOOM!” in oversized gray lettering on a black background. A couple of spreads later, readers see a large, pitch-black hand holding a tiny car the same color as the red car previously seen: It’s a child pushing a toy, the family poodle also engaging in the play. (At one point, the child even runs the car down the poodle’s back.) The vibrant green, yellow, and red colors of a stoplight—as well as bold, abstract shapes and simple, clean lines—dominate these stylized illustrations that evoke an earlier decade: Many of the cars are shaped as if they belong in the 1950s or ’60s. The child (and car!) even take a nap as well as stop for lunch (a bowl of “all-the-letters soup” that spells out CAR), but then it’s back to zooming: “G is G. O is O. GO.” The streamlined compositions are uncluttered and eye-catching: One spread about the rules of the road shows six large circles laid out in a row; one is red for stopping and another green for go. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A lively ode to play and to things that go vrooom. (Picture book. 4-10)Pub Date: June 22, 2021
ISBN: 978-1-4814-4933-5
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Beach Lane/Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: April 13, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2021
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BOOK REVIEW
Not astonishingly go-out-and-buy-it-at-graduation inspirational, but all it takes is one seed of change to be planted.
Imagination soars—quite literally—when a little girl follows her own set of rules.
Every year Oak Hill School has a go-kart race called the Going Places contest. Students are given identical go-kart kits with a precise set of instructions. And of course, every single kart ends up exactly the same. Every one, that is, except Maya’s. Maya is a dreamy artist, and she would rather sketch birds in her backyard than get caught up in the competition. When she finally does start working, she uses the parts in the go-kart box but creates something completely different. No one ever said it had to be a go-kart. Maya’s creative thinking inspires Rafael, her neighbor (and the most enthusiastic Going Places contestant), to ask to team up. The instructions never say they couldn’t work together, either! An ode to creativity and individuality to be sure, but the Reynolds brothers are also taking a swipe at modern education: Endless repetition and following instructions without question create a culture of conformity. Hopefully now, readers will see infinite possibility every time the system hands them an identical go-kart box.
Not astonishingly go-out-and-buy-it-at-graduation inspirational, but all it takes is one seed of change to be planted. (Picture book. 4-8)Pub Date: March 18, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-4424-6608-1
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Atheneum
Review Posted Online: Jan. 14, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
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BOOK REVIEW
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.
In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.
Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”
A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 25, 2025
ISBN: 9780063387843
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025
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