The Princess and the Pit Stop

Gr 1-3--Out of the way, Danica Patrick! Princess is coming through! Bombed with bad pit stop news--she's in last place with a mere lap to go--this gutsy gal puts the pedal to the metal, burning rubber, and peeling past a pack of familiar rivals. She catches the Gingerbread Man, "made the Seven Dwarfs grumpy," "beat Jack and Jill down the hill," and just plain "smokes the Three Little Pigs!" Angleberger's nitro-fueled terse text is announced by a goggle-eyed frog called Prince and all is ratcheted up by Santat's brilliant, turbo-charged signature illustrations. The culmination is a whirl of track-donuts and a victory ball. A fun rip for those who have enjoyed Caldecott-winner Santat's illustrations in books like Corey Rosen Schwartz's Ninja Red Riding Hood and Angleberger's "Inspector Flytrap" series. VERDICT Rev those engines and buckle that seat belt--readers are in for a bumpy ride. A high-octane storytime selection.--Patricia Manning, formerly at Eastchester Public Library, NY

Yes, the princess drives a race car, and why not? This sizzling readaloud starts as the Fairy Godmother tells the Princess that she's in last place with one lap to go. "She might as well give up!" the narrator threatens. But when readers get a look at the expression of grim determination behind the princess's goggles, they'll know all is not lost. As she roars off, a frog with a shiny suit and a shinier microphone provides a breathless account of her progress: "She passed Humpty Dumpty! She passed all the King's Horses! She passed all the King's Men!" Practically every major nursery rhyme character makes a cameo appearance: "She blew the doors off the Big Bad Wolf and smoked the Three Little Pigs." Rocket-fueled panel artwork by Santat (After the Fall) gleams like carbon fiber. His rendering of Angleberger's (the Origami Yoda series) inspired injection of sports-network energy into fairyland produces a shot of gleeful adrenaline whose only fault, like the best of things, is that it's over too soon. Ages 5-7. Author's agent: Caryn Wiseman, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Illustrator's agent: Jodi Reamer, Writers House. (July)