Vroom!

Max had his wolf suit and Llama Llama his red pajamas; Annie has her racing togs. She fits right in.

The simple, straightforward text immediately draws viewers into Annie's fantasy. Her journey is as real to her as her race car. The artwork has wit, a Sendakian sensibility, dynamic line work, and a strong structural quality. A captivating picture book for the many young children who are fascinated by cars and driven by the need for speed.

In this high-octane adventure, the hero does just as she pleases and makes it back in time for bed. One evening, Annie fits her helmet over her mass of red curls with a big smile on her face, gets into her race car--a sleek, torpedo-shaped unit that sits low to the ground--and rockets right out of her open bedroom window, the car leaving a stream of exhaust over the backyard. "It was a fine evening for a drive," the narrator continues, with delicious understatement, as Annie and her car blast across an impossibly expansive vista of plowed fields, and great mountains loom on the horizon. She hurtles on through magnificent stretches of geography--scaling peaks, sailing through red rock formations, zooming through forests and along city streets--before overtaking a surprised field of competitors on a race course and heading home. McClintock's crisp, clean landscape spreads have the precision of architectural drawings, and her economically told story offers all the greatest charms of adventure: being on one's own, seeing new places, and going really, really fast. It's a richly gratifying fantasy. Ages 4-7. (July)

Copyright 2019 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

A Wall Street Journal Best Book of 2019!
A Publishers Weekly Best Book of 2019!
A Booklist 2019 Editors' Choice!
A Bank Street Best Children's Book of 2020!

Satisfying . . . gorgeously illustrated . . . the tone is marvelously matter of fact about both the girl's feats of driving and her automotive passion. —The New York Times

When you are a small child in possession of a favorite toy, the barrier between reality and imagination is gauzy to the point of nonexistent. Barbara McClintock rips right through it, recapitulating the immersive thrill of imaginative play in "Vroom!" . . . As Annie whips along, her wheels churning up fantastic clouds of dust in Ms. McClintock's polished artwork, she passes through changing topography ornamented with details that will entice the eye: bewildered mountain goats, startled raccoons, and a truck driver so surprised that his soda goes flying. —The Washington Post

The text is crisp, making room for precise landscapes for the specifics of place. This fanciful journey celebrates a small girl with big dreams and moxie too. —The San Francisco Chronicle