Turning the Fables! Go, Pete, Go! by James Dean

It's a beautiful day, and Pete the Cat has decided to take his bike for a ride.

Nothing makes Pete happier than to feel the wind on his face.

But suddenly, Pete's peace is gone. What's that noise?

VROOOOOM VROOOOOM!

It's Turtle in a brand-new red racing car! Shouting over the roar of his engine, he has a question....

"WANT TO RACE?"

Grumpy Toad offers the excuse that his motorcycle has a flat tire. Emma says her car is way too slow. Callie has other motoring interests.

"My bus is a work of art!" she says.

But Pete the Cat is happy to take on Turtle.

"I'll do my best!" Pete says.

And the race is on. Pete the Cat pedals steadily, a smile on his face. Turtle puts the pedal to metal and is off, his race car out of sight in no time. Turtle looks back down the road, deciding to slow down and let Pete catch up. But as Pete gets close, Turtle cannot resist hitting the accelerator again and zooms off, leaving Pete in the dust.

Turtle gets so far ahead that he decides to stop at a roadside diner for a bite to eat. He is even enjoying a leisurely dessert when Pete, still pedaling along, pulls into view. Turtle jumps back into the red race car and vroooms off at top speed, while Pete stops to smell the roses.

Far down the road, Turtle is so sure of winning the race that he stops again to have a cool glass of lemonade and a bit of a rest, and soon he finds himself taking a nap.

Savvy young readers will surely know where this one is going by this point, with author James Dean flipping the fable, with Turtle as the Hare and Pete the Cat playing the part of the Tortoise who is slow and steady and wins the race after all, in Dean's Pete the Cat: Go, Pete, Go! (HaperCollins, 2016). Dean's simple and silly spoof of the old tale told long ago by Aesop will give young readers a giggle and an insight into the fable as well.