I Won

"Attention please! Is everyone ready for the race?" begins Wielockx (Pilot Pete) as eight multiethnic children run across an empty spread. But they aren't competing in a footrace—piloting an array of land and air vehicles, they overtake each other as the book proceeds. "The tricycle takes the lead. 'I'm going to win!' Emma calls happily," Wielockx writes as a brown-skinned girl with spiky dreadlocks smiles at readers from her trike, her teddy bear waving from a rear basket. A girl named Marie on a Vespa-style scooter passes Emma, but Marie is outpaced by Tessa's jeep, and so on. Readers wondering how, exactly, these children got their motor vehicle licenses receive an answer on the final spread, where it's revealed that the various fire trucks, motorcycles, and racecars are actually part of a carousel. "So..." the author asks, "who actually won?" Solid, brightly colored backdrops keep the focus squarely on each individual vehicle and its driver, and Wielockx's detailed paintings will intrigue mechanically inclined readers while generating a just-competitive-enough sense of fun. Ages 3-up.

Copyright 2015 Publishers Weekly, LCC Used with permission

Young readers will love the vast array of vehicles: a jeep, a quad bike (!), a cool bus covered with flower paintings. I love the design of this book: the vibrant illustrations pop off the page, the name of each new vehicle is in bold letters, and each spread has a solid, bright backdrop. Those familiar with my blog know that I love surprise endings, and this title has a great one. How are these pint-sized characters driving fire trucks and planes? All is revealed on a charming, surprising final spread. - MR. BRIAN'S PICTURE BOOK BLOG