The Fastest Tortoise in Town

Anyone who has optimistically signed up for a fun run will see themselves in friendly faced Barbara Hendricks, the "regular leopard tortoise" who narrates this sweetly rendered variation on Aesop's "The Tortoise and the Hare." Barbara is a bundle of nerves ahead of the big day, but she has a champion, too--"my owner and best friend, Lorraine," a bespectacled child portrayed with brown skin--who believes in her unconditionally. Lorraine leads Barbara through a crash-training regimen (they're overtaken by "an absentminded worm" and a newly walking toddler). And on game day, the child encourages the tortoise to "just run your own race." Though Barbara spies a snail, a slow loris, and a sloth ("the fastest animals I've ever seen!") at the starting line, her strategy of putting one foot in front of the other, again and again, pays off. Calvert (Lots of Frogs) creates a lovable everytortoise via Barbara's entertaining account, nodding to the original fable with the appearance of a new, long-eared challenger at book's end. In moving mixed-media images of expressive figures and bustling townsfolk portrayed with various skin tones, Obuhanych (This Little Kitty) delivers visual laughs and creates a tortoise to root for. Ages 3-7. (Apr.)

Barbara Hendricks, a regular leopard tortoise, has entered a running race. She knows it's not a great idea and she's ready to back out, but her owner Lorraine believes in her and Barbara is willing to give it a go. . . . The race result might not matter for young listeners as they'll likely be rolling with giggles at the sight of the grimly determined racers slowly—slowly—making their way across several pages of panels. . . The richly textured mixed-media art is vibrant, balancing bright pops of color in the foreground with more subtle hues in the setting. . . The try-your-best message is a familiar one, but it has an irreverent freshness here. — The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books (starred review)

Believing in yourself helps when the odds seem stacked against you, as exemplified in this clever tale. . . any child who has faced a seemingly impossible task will relate to Barbara, right to the end. . . . Slow and steady? Call this tortoise shell-bent and dedicated. — Kirkus Reviews