Cars

Gr 3—6—Lightning and Mater enter a cross-country race from Radiator Springs to Chi-Car-Go, competing against duos from town and from their pasts. The script is clearly inspired by classic road adventure films like It's a Mad Mad Mad Mad World and Cannonball Run, where the pleasure is in the character combinations and the scrapes they get into. Similarly, the journey mimics the themes of the films, with some characters more interested in the journey than the destination. But this structure makes the narrative a bit scattered, and some character arcs are much less realized than others. There's never any real peril, but this is due to the fact that the bad guys have their redemptive qualities and humorous bits. The full-color art provides both atmosphere and depth. Unfortunately, both illustrations and story collapse in the final moments, as everything feels a bit rushed in the dissatisfying conclusion. Reprising their roles as joint-narrators from Muppet Christmas Carol, Gonzo and Rizzo tell the story of how evil stepmother Miss Piggy was so jealous of Spamela Hamderson that she tried to have her killed. The book is charming and witty and departs from the traditional narrative in clever ways. The artwork is pleasingly chaotic, giving the slightly off-model interpretations of the puppets a stretchy liveliness. Prior knowledge of the characters helps the set-ups and jokes immensely, but new readers should also find the book whimsically compelling.—Benjamin Russell, Belmont High School, NH