Keep On Truckin'! Elbow Grease by John Cena

For the Bigfoot Brothers Trucks--Flash, Pinball, Tank, and Crash--everything is about getting there first!

"LAST ONE THERE IS A HUNK OF JUNK!"

It's all about the speed and the power, and little Elbow Grease is a little short on both of those.

HE'S THE SMALLEST, BUT HE NEVER LET THAT BOTHER HIM!

The other guys in the event are faster, tougher, and even perhaps smarter and braver, but Elbow Grease works hard and he's got a plenty of one thing--HE's GOT GUMPTION!

He never gives up, and when Mel the Mechanic plugs him in to give him a big charge, she wishes him good luck. All she can say (wryly) to his big, boastful brother is...

"DON'T HURT YOURSELF, TANK!"

Of course, the big guys soon leave little Elbow Grease in the dust. To make it even harder, he has to stop for a re-charge along the way. But he keeps on truckin'.
And when a cold rain exhausts his battery, he badly needs a jolt of volts. But just in time the rain turns into a whammer-jammer of a thunderstorm, and at last he gets a break!

CRACKALACKA! BOOM-SHOCK-A-LOCK-A!!

It's a bolt from the blue and with volts from the sky, and now little Elbow Grease has what it takes to finish the race, in John Cena's funny story of the little monster truck that could, in his Elbow Grease (Random House, 2018). Even Big Wheels McGee agrees:

"THIS KID'S GOT GUMPTION. YOU GUYS COULD LEARN A LOT FROM HIM!"

It's a hoary old premise and plotline, but with a cute little car character and the skillful illustrations of Howard McWilliam, Cena's story has a lot to say to young gearheads who will be inspired to have staying power and gumption at whatever they do and wherever their road takes them. Says Kirkus Reviews, "Visual fun ... [makes] this an enjoyable read with an inarguably valuable message." Share this one with Kate and Jim McMullens' I'm Fast! (Kate and Jim Mcmullan) (see review here).