BUSTER GETS BACK ON TRACK

In NASCAR champion Earnhardt’s latest, Buster the race car learns how to manage big emotions.

Once again motor sports meet dealings with feelings. Having learned how to cope with performance anxiety in Buster’s Trip to Victory Lane (2022), the young race car now struggles with frustration as team members Click and Jimmy Jam keep winning practice heats. Coach Hog counsels taking a moment: “Breathe in deep. / Count 1, 2, 3. / Breathe out slow. / And off you’ll go!” Before Buster can take that advice to heart, though, he acts out—roaring away from the track into the woods and trying his wheels on a muddy off-road course against retired Humvees Kat and Gus, with no better success. Eventually, of course, he gets back on track both literally and figuratively…and breathes his way to a triumphant win. “But knowing he didn’t have to get stuck in his feelings? Well, that felt even better.” Smietanka puts smiling faces on the grilles of the four-wheeled cast, along with identifying accessories like a ball cap for Buster and pink “camo” for Kat. Racing fans will pore over an aerial view of the entire off-road course, and the cartoon illustrations extend into a trio of closing exercises for any readers who want to try out Coach Hog’s technique in various off-road situations.

Pedal to the metal, but once the dust settles, it’s all about the instructional load.