With considerable panache, Farndon bestows these beasts with their very own brand of beauty.
An insanely joyful collection of—well, call them electrifying biographies of very fast trucks.
Profiled here are 10 of the fastest trucks on planet Earth (or likely anywhere else in the solar system). Farndon whets readers’ appetites by briefly surveying concepts of speed and acceleration and how one actually goes about measuring speed. One example is of a “superbike” —that is, a motorcycle—that accelerates from zero to 60 mph in 2.9 seconds. Then it is on to a brisk but riveting introduction to the trucks; as the speeds increase, the trucks become more mesmerizing, and turning the pages actually slows the action, something like what the theory of relativity does to time. First up is Lee Shockley’s “Shockwave,” a semi without the trailer, but with three Pratt and Whitney jet engines, which tools merrily along at 376 mph, flames pouring from its exhaust pipes as it races to catch a jet. Late to school? Paul Stender’s “School Time” bus will get you there at 367 mph, though it only gets one mile per 150 gallons of fuel. Brio meets absurdity on steroids in this dramatically illustrated—both photos and drawings—survey that also makes learning about jet propulsion, tire construction, and sidewinder rattlers a hoot. Megafast Motorcycles delivers the same treatment to two-wheelers.
With considerable panache, Farndon bestows these beasts with their very own brand of beauty. (index, glossary) (Nonfiction. 8-12)Pub Date: March 1, 2016
ISBN: 978-1-4677-9587-6
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Hungry Tomato/Lerner
Review Posted Online: Dec. 7, 2015
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2015
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The whimsy is slight—the story is not—and both its interest and its vocabulary are for the youngest members of this age...
Beverly Cleary has written all kinds of books (the most successful ones about the irrepressible Henry Huggins) but this is her first fantasy.
Actually it's plain clothes fantasy grounded in the everyday—except for the original conceit of a mouse who can talk and ride a motorcycle. A toy motorcycle, which belongs to Keith, a youngster, who comes to the hotel where Ralph lives with his family; Ralph and Keith become friends, Keith gives him a peanut butter sandwich, but finally Ralph loses the motorcycle—it goes out with the dirty linen. Both feel dreadfully; it was their favorite toy; but after Keith gets sick, and Ralph manages to find an aspirin for him in a nearby room, and the motorcycle is returned, it is left with Ralph....
The whimsy is slight—the story is not—and both its interest and its vocabulary are for the youngest members of this age group. (Fantasy. 8-12)Pub Date: Sept. 22, 1965
ISBN: 0380709244
Page Count: 180
Publisher: Morrow/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 16, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 1, 1965
BOOK TO SCREEN
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven.
An aspiring scientist and a budding artist become friends and help each other with dream projects.
Unfolding in mid-1980s Sacramento, California, this story stars 12-year-olds Rosalind and Benjamin as first-person narrators in alternating chapters. Ro’s father, a fellow space buff, was killed by a drunk driver; the rocket they were working on together lies unfinished in her closet. As for Benji, not only has his best friend, Amir, moved away, but the comic book holding the clue for locating his dad is also missing. Along with their profound personal losses, the protagonists share a fixation with the universe’s intriguing potential: Ro decides to complete the rocket and hopes to launch mementos of her father into outer space while Benji’s conviction that aliens and UFOs are real compels his imagination and creativity as an artist. An accident in science class triggers a chain of events forcing Benji and Ro, who is new to the school, to interact and unintentionally learn each other’s secrets. They resolve to find Benji’s dad—a famous comic-book artist—and partner to finish Ro’s rocket for the science fair. Together, they overcome technical, scheduling, and geographical challenges. Readers will be drawn in by amusing and fantastical elements in the comic book theme, high emotional stakes that arouse sympathy, and well-drawn character development as the protagonists navigate life lessons around grief, patience, self-advocacy, and standing up for others. Ro is biracial (Chinese/White); Benji is White.
Charming, poignant, and thoughtfully woven. (Fiction. 9-12)Pub Date: Jan. 12, 2021
ISBN: 978-0-06-300888-5
Page Count: 304
Publisher: Quill Tree Books/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: Oct. 26, 2020
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Nov. 15, 2020
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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