Looking for a way to rev up your kid’s summer vacation?
Have him go along for the ride when a burly blue freight train challenges a hot little red sports car to a cross-country race.
The high-octane adventure is detailed in Kate and Jim McMullan’s colorful literary creation: I’m Fast!
The race begins in Sacramento, California, and ends in Chicago, Illinois. In between young readers are treated to a series of twists and turns through the desert the mountains, urban jungles and country passes where herds of cattle aren’t keen about moo-ving off of train tracks.
Despite having to haul a mile of heavy-duty freight cars filled with ice cream bars, lumber, trucks and ingredients for pizza, the train does quite well keeping up with his speedy little opponent.
The car Vvvrrrrrrrrrrrrrrums his way through the book while the train Chooka Chooka Chooka Chookas along the picturesque journey.
The book’s staccato text and rhythmic sentences make the story highly entertaining for young bookworms to read aloud. However, that’s not all I’m Fast has going for it. The easy reader is filled with fun facts, including a page dedicated to detailing various train parts, such as the boxcar, stack car, hopper, tank car, coil car, freezer car, and tank car.
The race is neck-and-neck for the majority of the book, though it ends on the second to the last page with a clear winner.
However, to their credit, the McMullans don’t disappoint their race-loving fans. Regardless of whether your young reader was rooting for the blue train or the red car, he’ll cheer when he gets to the very last page and sees the surprise waiting for him there.
The combination of realistic illustrations and an action-packed plot makes I’m Fast a real winner with toddlers to third graders. I’d bring it along on a summer road trip, an airplane ride to grandma’s house, or better yet, read it while riding on the rails to your family’s favorite summer vacation destination.
You can find I’m Fast online at HarperCollins.com or at local book retailers nationwide.
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