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RACE CARS

Name: RACE CARS
Author: Jenny Devenny
ISBN: 978-0-7112-6290-4

A CHILDREN'S BOOK ABOUT WHITE PRIVILEGE

by Jenny Devenny ; illustrated by Jenny Devenny ; edited by Charnaie Gordon ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 4, 2021

An earnest, uneven effort at tackling a big topic with little ones.

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An automobile race as metaphor to explain White privilege to young children.

Transparent collaboration between a White author/illustrator and a Black editor bespeaks the book’s dual purposes: “to support…[Black, Indigenous, and People of Color] children in resisting social messages of racial inferiority and to support white children in developing a positive self-concept” that does not require a sense of superiority. In the text, intentional spacing disrupts the compound word racecar to introduce two race cars, Chase, who is black, and Ace, who is white. They enjoy racing, and Chase is exceptionally fast. He ends up being the first black car to ever win a race. The all–white car “race committee” decides “to change a few of the rules” to maintain white cars’ advantage. Ensuing pages show Chase blocked from a route open only to white race cars and then stopped by a “race officer,” metaphorically showcasing systemic and institutional racism at play. The thoughtful concluding discussion guide may help readers understand the metaphor, but it doesn’t directly address several issues that risk undermining the text’s good intentions. Why is every car on the race committee white to begin with, and why has “no one…ever seen them?” Isn’t White dominance of powerful institutions painfully visible in the real world? How are readers to understand the cars of other colors that appear? Why is a female race committee member the first to speak out against the unfair rules?

An earnest, uneven effort at tackling a big topic with little ones. (author's note, editor's note, reading tips) (Picture book. 4-8)

Pub Date: May 4, 2021

ISBN: 978-0-7112-6290-4

Page Count: 40

Publisher: Frances Lincoln

Review Posted Online: May 4, 2021

Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2021

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

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LITTLE BLUE TRUCK AND RACER RED

From the Little Blue Truck series

by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry ‧ RELEASE DATE: March 25, 2025

A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share.

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In this latest in the series, Little Blue Truck, driven by pal Toad, is challenged to a countryside race by Racer Red, a sleek, low-slung vehicle.

Blue agrees, and the race is on. Although the two start off “hood to hood / and wheel to wheel,” they switch positions often as they speed their way over dusty country roads. Blue’s farm friends follow along to share in the excitement and shout out encouragement; adult readers will have fun voicing the various animal sounds. Short rhyming verses on each page and several strategic page turns add drama to the narrative, but soft, mottled effects in the otherwise colorful illustrations keep the competition from becoming too intense. Racer Red crosses the finish line first, but Blue is a gracious loser, happy to have worked hard. That’s a new concept for Racer Red, who’s laser-focused on victory but takes Blue’s words (“win or lose, it’s fun to try!”) to heart—a revelation that may lead to worthwhile storytime discussions. When Blue’s farm animal friends hop into the truck for the ride home, Racer Red tags along and learns a second lesson, one about speed. “Fast is fun, / and slow is too, / as long as you’re / with friends.”

A friendship tale with solid messaging and plenty of fun sounds to share. (Picture book. 4-7)

Pub Date: March 25, 2025

ISBN: 9780063387843

Page Count: 32

Publisher: Clarion/HarperCollins

Review Posted Online: Jan. 18, 2025

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 15, 2025

Categories:

CHILDREN'S SOCIAL THEMES | CHILDREN'S ANIMALS | CHILDREN'S TRANSPORTATION

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK MAKES A FRIEND
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by Jill McElmurry

- BOOK REVIEW
TIME FOR SCHOOL, LITTLE BLUE TRUCK
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

- BOOK REVIEW
LITTLE BLUE TRUCK'S VALENTINE
by Alice Schertle ; illustrated by John Joseph

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ON THE FIRST DAY OF KINDERGARTEN

by Tish Rabe ; illustrated by Laura Hughes ‧ RELEASE DATE: June 21, 2016

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of...

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Rabe follows a young girl through her first 12 days of kindergarten in this book based on the familiar Christmas carol.

The typical firsts of school are here: riding the bus, making friends, sliding on the playground slide, counting, sorting shapes, laughing at lunch, painting, singing, reading, running, jumping rope, and going on a field trip. While the days are given ordinal numbers, the song skips the cardinal numbers in the verses, and the rhythm is sometimes off: “On the second day of kindergarten / I thought it was so cool / making lots of friends / and riding the bus to my school!” The narrator is a white brunette who wears either a tunic or a dress each day, making her pretty easy to differentiate from her classmates, a nice mix in terms of race; two students even sport glasses. The children in the ink, paint, and collage digital spreads show a variety of emotions, but most are happy to be at school, and the surroundings will be familiar to those who have made an orientation visit to their own schools.

While this is a fairly bland treatment compared to Deborah Lee Rose and Carey Armstrong-Ellis’ The Twelve Days of Kindergarten (2003), it basically gets the job done. (Picture book. 4-7)