Racing Ace: Drive It! Fix It! by Larry Dane Brimner, illustrated b Kaylani Juanita. Scholastic, 2022. 9781338553789
Rating: 1-5 (5 is an excellent or a Starred review) 5
Format: ARC (3/22 pub date)
Genre: Easy reader
What did you like about the book? Simple text and an adorable heroine make this early reader a stand-out. Ace loves to race! Not only that, but she can fix her car and paint it, too. I love that Ace is a Black girl racecar driver, and that she can do everything needed to participate in the big race. (I wonder if the author knew that the first female majority pit team just participated in the Indy 500 in 2021!)
Veteran children’s author Brimner has teamed up with one of my favorite new illustrators. His easy to read short sentences in three short chapters come to life in Juanita’s wonderful warm illustrations of Ace, adding humor, and drama. Ace’s facial expressions are priceless as she solves problems off and on the race track. This is the first of a series, with more to come later in 2022.
Anything you didn’t like about it? No
To whom would you recommend this book? Perfect for new readers, ages 4-6, and an essential title for libraries seeking to diversify easy reader collections.
Who should buy this book? Elementary school and public libraries
Where would you shelve it ? Easy readers
Should we (librarians/readers) put this on the top of our “to read” piles? Yes
Reviewer’s Name, Library (or school), City and State: Stephanie Tournas, Robbins Library, Arlington, MA
Date of review: January 21, 2022
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