Racing Around - I Know The Feeling (The Race - Caroline Repchuk)

Member Name: belfin

Product:	The Race - Caroline Repchuk
Date:	17/07/06 (108 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fun version of the Tortoise and the Hare

Disadvantages: None

***Background***

Caroline Repchuk has written a wide variety of books for young children including the Easter Chicks pop up book. She has also written the Fairy series with illustrator Rachael O'Neill and the Jam Panda series with illustrator Stephanie Boey. This one though is slightly different as it is a variation of the very popular Aesop Fable, The Tortoise and The Hare.

Alison Jay is a famous artist, not only for her book illustrations but for her paintings too. She uses oils but as in this book she uses a crackle to give the pictures an old type feel to them. This works exceptionally well in this book.

***The Story***

The rhyming storybook starts with Hare getting all annoyed at Tortoise for getting in his way.

"HONK! Growled Hare, really wild,
but Tortoise simply stopped and smiled.

'Whoa there, Bunny! In a hurry?
The speed you're going just isn't funny!
Slow and steady is the way
to get somewhere without delay.

Think that's all just silly talk?
Well I am heading for New York.
Perhaps,' said Tortoise, 'you would care,
to have some fun and race me there?"

'Fine,' said Hare, 'I like a race!'
A route was set, they made a bet,
and so began a famous chase…"

The Hare in this story has a lovely, fast, red, racing car to get him there and of course thinks the bet is a done deal. Things don't actually go to plan though as he soon has car trouble and has to find alternative transport to get him there, whilst Tortoise lazes on a big ship.

We see him go through various countries on his travels including China and Australia and all through the book we see Tortoise's ship in the distance while Hare struggles on.

As in the original fable Tortoise wins the race and Hare was forced to admit that, "Slow and steady wins the day!"

***The Illustrations***

Although the rhyming story is a lovely tale, it is really the illustrations that make this book just a little bit special. The details throughout are fantastic and the cracked look to them makes it like pages of an old book that you might have found in an ancient library. The colours are beautiful and the drawings are funny as we see the Hare try everything to get ahead whilst the Tortoise just lies around, reading, eating and fishing as he relaxes on the ship.

***My Thoughts***

What attracted my son to this book to start with was the picture of Hare's red car on the front as it reminded him of the car in Jez Alborough's, Duck stories as he thought it was another Duck book. He was slightly disappointed to start with when he realised it wasn't as he loves that series of books. However, once we opened the book and started reading it, I could see him getting interested by Hare's exploits

This book is a fantastic take on a classic tale as it not only shows different forms of transport but different countries too and the pictures show fantastic images of the pyramids in Egypt and the different animals in India. This makes this book a great learning aid for young children with an interest in finding out about what it's like in different countries.

Although Tortoise wins the race, I can't help but think that it was the Hare that had the most fun getting to New York, even though he does go through various scrapes and hair-raising experiences - sorry I couldn't resist the pun. Slow and steady does seem a little bit boring as Hare surfs across the sea and canoes through the raging rapids.

The lilting rhymes in this book tell the story wonderfully and I love the way certain words are put in bold to emphasise the drama along the way. There isn't a lot of text on the large pages of this paperback so there is plenty of time to examine the pictures and see what your child can spot in the backgrounds.

***Other Books by Caroline Repchuk***

Snappy's Little Numbers
Snappy's Little Colours
Fairy Box
Fairy Fairy Quite Contrary
Meet the Jam Pandas
Peaches and Plum in Trouble

***Price and Availability***

The price on the back of the book is £5.99 but this paperback can be found for only £4.49 from Tesco. It is also available in hardback form from WH Smith for the price of £9.99.

Paperback ISBN No. 1840111046
Hardback ISBN No. 1840113065

Summary: great version of a classic