Honk! Splat! Vroom!

Description

Five mice speed down a road race, eager to cross the finish line. But first they must overcome all sorts of messy obstacles, including mud and one very hungry cat! Luckily, a friendly goose saves the day. Told in 53 simple words, this delightful picture book will appeal to the youngest of readers!

Barry Gott lives in Ohio and has illustrated many children's books, including all of the Dino-Sports and Dino-Holidays books and What DO Teachers Do (After YOU Leave School)? Barry Gott lives in Ohio and has illustrated many children's books, including all of the Dino-Sports and Dino-Holidays books and What DO Teachers Do (After YOU Leave School)?

A book with plenty of honks, plenty of vrooms, and more than its fair share of splats! Tensions run high as five gray mice, driving cars of varying hues, start their engines. From there, it's a struggle between the blue car's driver and its four competitors. When their bad luck becomes its good fortune, the little racer rubs it in their collective faces. Karma is no fan of bad manners, however, and soon the blue car's mouse is in last place again, only this time with a goose companion in tow. Happily, when it sees the other racers threatened by a nasty cat, it takes the newly learned lesson about the golden rule to heart and rescues the lot. With a text that's almost completely limited to sound effects ('BOINK!' 'SPLASH!' 'SCREEECH!!!') and the occasional outburst of gloating laughter, the book works as well in a storytime as it does with emerging readers just beginning to work out phonetics. Happily, this simplicity of language is not dragged down by pedantic action. The digital art features clean, black lines filled with soft, bright hues that emulate watercolor; they are full of motion, emphasizing the need for speed. Fun fails to usurp message; listeners will get the point, but they won't feel bludgeoned. Gott keeps his moralizing subdued, his action hot, and his young audience pumped. On track to become a repeated favorite.--Kirkus Reviews -- "Journal" (10/16/2017 12:00:00 AM) Five mice sit in their crayon-colored race cars, poised at the starting line. The fans, tidily arranged in a pink egg-carton grandstand, look on. Three page-turns later the scene has degenerated from Formula One to demolition derby as the cars meet disaster at every turn. An altruistic goose and a malevolent cat play their roles in a jaunty narrative that manages, with a minimum of text and rough-and-ready digital illustrations, to convey suspense, poignancy, irony, heroism, and the exhilaration of a situation in which, against all odds, everybody wins. Well, except for a sodden ginger cat who, Malvolio-like, adds a dark note before the final curtain. Spacious book design, in-your-face typography, dynamic composition, unabashed emotional sign-posting, and speedy pacing add up to a story that invites a spirited read-aloud or read-along. This joyful adventure is a rare example of a story that gives equal weight to the thrill of competition and the power of cooperation, all without a trace of soppiness.--The Horn Book Magazine -- "Journal" (4/3/2018 12:00:00 AM) In his first solo outing, illustrator Gott (the Dino-Sports series ) tracks the twists and turns of a race among five gray mice in brightly colored racecars. At the signal ('Go!'), a poorly timed 'Ah-choo!' leaves the mouse in the blue car asking, 'Vroom?' as the others speed ahead. They fly around a curve, landing--'Splat!'--in a mud puddle just in time for the sneezing racer to catch up and use their helmets like stepping stones ('Boink! Boink! Boink! Boink!'). With bold digital illustrations that impressively approximate watercolors and the repeated use of a dozen or so words (most of which are sound effects), Gott energetically captures the speed, motion, and emotion of the race. The sparse narration encourages readers to discuss what's happening on each page, and although the mice nearly fall prey to a cat, a friendly goose (whose 'honk' is far louder than those of the cars) helps save the day and contributes to a satisfying team finish. Everyone (except the cat) wins in this light, funny tale.--Publishers Weekly -- "Journal" (12/4/2017 12:00:00 AM) With pictures, sound effects, and almost no dialogue, this relates the high action of a sports-car race through some rough terrain. Five almost indistinguishable mice fortunately drive uniquely colored cars. At the start, the blue-car mouse is the underdog when he (or she?) is left sneezing in the other drivers' dust. The others zip along, while it seems the blue-car mouse will stay mired in a pool of water. A goose quickly comes to the rescue, joins him for the rest of the race, and, along the way, saves the other drivers from a menacing cat. All five mice and the goose end up winning, while the cat is left pitifully in the water hazard. Gott, who illustrated Lisa Wheeler's Dino-Sports books, places the nitty-gritty world of car racing in a pleasant countryside with friendly-looking creatures (even the cat isn't that frightening). Although the illustrations are digital, they have the softness of watercolors. With the minimal text, children can have fun providing their own play-by-play accounts for this action-packed race.--Booklist -- "Journal" (12/4/2017 12:00:00 AM)