Sunday, June 11, 2017

Enzo and the Fourth of July Races by Garth Stein - ADVISABLE

Stein, Garth Enzo and the Fourth of July Races, Illustrated by R.W. Alley. PICTURE BOOK. HarperCollins Children’s Books 2017. $17.99. Content G.  

Enzo is Denny and Zoe’s dog.  Today is the big Independance Day Race - Denny is racing his car at the speedway and Zoe gets to race her Go Kart for the very first time.  Enzo can tell that Zoe is worried and he wants to be supportive.  When Zoe registers for the Kids’ Kart Challenge, a boastful boy teases her because she is a girl and “girls aren’t fast drivers”.  Now Zoe doesn’t want to race, and it’s affecting Denny’s driving for his race (because his mind must be totally on the race.) So, after a pep talk with Denny’s mechanic and a lot of support from Enzo, Zoe puts her name back on the list determined to do her best in the race.  

This was a great story - lots of great messages about believing in yourself, not giving up, focus on the prize etc. The full color illustrations were full of things to look at - like you were really at the speedway.  There were a lot of racing terms, so the glossary at the end comes in handy.  A lot of text, but it’s a great read aloud to share.  

EL (K-3) ADVISABLE  Lisa Librarian

No comments: