The Racecar Alphabet

Author/illustrator Brian Floca, who won a Caldecott Medal for his picture-book Locomotive, delivers a highly alliterative alaphabetic celebration of racecars in this entertaining title. Each page features a different letter - for example: "Eyes in the audience, each open and eager, expecting excitement (enduring exhaust)" for the letter E - as the overarching 'story' builds toward the excitement of the race's conclusion.

Although not a racing fan myself, I think The Racecar Alphabet will have great appeal to young children who are, or who are fascinated by cars and other vehicles in general. It's a well-constructed text, one that highlights the alphabet while also presenting a sequential depiction, not just of a race, but of the show more evolution of the racecar over time. The artwork, done in watercolor, captures the changing structures of these speeding vehicles, and the changing venues in which they have raced over the years. Recommended to anyone looking for alphabet books featuring cars and/or racing, as well as to young racing fans interested in the history of their sport. The decorative end-papers, which depict racecars over time, will be a particularly welcome bonus for the latter. show less

A great integration of alphabet and plot, each page (mostly) features a sentence that advances the story using the next letter of the alphabet, with most of the words in that sentence beginning with it. We see a race from beginning to end, with lots of great vocabulary and action.

I liked this book. I think it is a good book for young readers. The way the book is formatted is unique and presents a fun way to teach the alphabet. Along with learning the alphabet, readers can also learn some things about racing. The alphabetic element creates an engaging and entertaining experience. The illustrations in this book is the focal point in my opinion. Every page is filled with a colorful depiction of the words. In my opinion, this book is a good introduction to a writing activity. This can prompt students to think creatively about how to portray a story though writing in alphabetic order. Although the message this book is portraying isn't quite clear, one lesson that can be taken from 'The Racecar Alphabet," is that show more there is not just one way to write a story and that it is okay to take a risk and put a different spin on your writing. show less

This book tells and illustrates what happens during a race car race. Each page represents one letter of the alphabet (in order, of course!), with alliteration throughout the text on that page. There are some difficult words (enduring, outpacing, vying) mixed in with simple words and simple sentence structure. The watercolor illustrations have a lot of details to help explain those big words. The illustrations also move through a history of race cars, showing us different car styles, as well as setting and clothing, progressing through time. Their is also an interesting illustration of all the cars represented in the book, with their names and years, on the inside covers. It is fast-paced, fun, and exciting to read.

This ABC book has nice illustrations and lots of different racecars, old and newer. The front and back of the back have the names and manufacturing dates of various cars to learn about. The best thing about this book, however, is the wonderful alliteration on every page for every letter.

This book was a good illustration of using the letters of the alphabet, and alliteration, to tell the story of a race. The race car history illustrations added a nice visual touch, which can be an opportunity to discuss the differences in some of the cars.

This is an alphabet book using race cars and a race as the background. The pictures are very big and each page tells about the race using a different letter of the alphabet. It is a good book. I think it would have a special appeal to the boys in my class who love cars and trucks.