IN THE DRIVER'S SEAT

As if from a movie camera's viewfinder, a fantasy drive in a hot little car enfolds. The viewpoint is the driver's: Readers see the top of the bold, colorful steering wheel, stylized jazzy dials on the dashboard, part of the hood, and whatever lies ahead. ""Yikes! Look out for that cow! Mooooo! Turn right, right, right!"" The car goes through a barn, off a mountain, underwater, through a tunnel, and ends up on a race track, in competition to a first-place finish. The surprising obstacles and locales add to the frantic pace of the text, which includes lots of opportunities for honks and beeps. Adults may find the spreads monotonous--the front windshield and dashboard don't vary, of course, but that's precisely why preschoolers will love it. The bold drawings feature the heavy black lines found in many board books, but with more sophisticated shapes; Haynes plays with the signs, racing stripes, and the checkerboard curve of a track, fully conveying you-are-there immediacy to children.