Automotive Abecedarius: Race From A to Z (Jon Scieszka's Trucktown) by Jon Scieszka

"CALLING ALL TRUCKS--A, B, C.

LET'S GO, TRUCKS--RACE FROM A TO Z!"

Jack Truck throws down the oil rag, er, gauntlet, and gets the Trucktown gang revving up for a race, not to a place, but from one end of the alphabet to the other!

A IS FOR AXLE, BUMPER STARTS WITH A B!

C IS FOR CONSTRUCTION, CURB, CONES, AND CRASHES!

And pistons are pounding as trucks take to the road! Dan the Dump Truck, (who dumps dirt and dashes) takes the lead, but all the citizens of Trucktown have their moments--Cool Grader Kat smoothes the way, Gabby the Garbage Truck fairly flies, Rescue Rita and Wrecker Rosie strut their stuff, while little Izzy the Ice Cream Truck trails along in the rear, with a plaintive

"ICE CREAM! ICE CREAM! DO YOU WANT AN ICE CREAM?"

"NOT WHILE WE'RE RACING!" THE BIG RIGS ROAR AT POOR IZZY.

But harsh words do not melt Izzy's determination, as he stays cool and keeps in the race. In fact, when all the rest screech to a halt at the Y is for Yield sign and get themselves in a terrible truck traffic jam, Izzy chugs by, triumphant. Z, it seems, is for IZZY!

With the help of superstar illustrators David Shannon, Loren Long, and David Gordon on his pet crew, Jon Sciezka's latest in his top-selling Trucktown series, Race from A to Z (Jon Scieszka's Trucktown) (Simon and Schuster, 2014), offers an alphabet lesson embedded in a demolition derby that gives readers quite a ride. The trio of artists contribute a fine cast of rambunctious googly-eyed characters, full of personality from grill to tailpipe, to keep kids' heads in the alphabet game all the way to the fast and funny finish line. "Clever fun, swooshing with motion and energy, this latest in the series will keep readers racing their engines for more," says Kirkus Reviews.