TOOT TOOT ZOOM!
by Phyllis Root & illustrated by Matthew Cordell
Pierre the fox lives a lonely life at the foot of a very high mountain. One day he jumps in his zippy red car hoping to find a friend on the other side. At each switchback he honks: “Toot! Toot! Zoom!” But listeners shouldn’t get too carried away zooming, as Pierre frequently screeches to a halt, his way blocked—first by Goat, then Sheep and finally Bear. One after the other Mr. Gumpy–like, they pile into the little red car, hoping, like Pierre, to find a friend. When a horrendous crash wrecks their trusty vehicle, the animals offer to stay with Pierre on the other side of the mountain, which but for them, would be just as lonely as Pierre’s side. Cordell’s ink-and-watercolor illustrations effectively portray the seesawing emotions of the characters, and he often orients his spreads vertically to chart Pierre’s progress up and down the needle-like mountain. While the car crash is played as slapstick, the house the four construct of the car’s remains is a nice detail. Not a necessary purchase, but rounds out the friendship theme and has storytime potential. (Picture book. 3-6)