The fastest tortoise in town / Howard Calvert ; illustrated by Karen Obuhanych.

Title :

The fastest tortoise in town

Author:

Format:

Books

Summary:

"Barbara Hendricks, a tortoise, has entered a road race, but what was she thinking? With only a week to go before the big day, she worries that she doesn't stand a chance against the other animals competing. Barbara's friend and owner, Lorraine, inspires her to train a little bit more each day and coaxes her out of her shell when the race day arrives. How intimidating to line up next to the slow loris, the snail, the sloth, and the walrus! But Barbara realizes that if she just tries her best, she's already won"--

Language:

English

ISBN - ISSN:

9781536228359

1536228354

Physical Description:

1 volume (unpaged) : color illustrations ; 23 x 27 cm

General Note:

"First published by Walker Books Ltd. (UK) 2023"--Colophon.

Subject:

Leopard tortoise -- Juvenile fiction.

Racing -- Juvenile fiction.

Perseverance (Ethics) -- Juvenile fiction.

Self-confidence -- Juvenile fiction.

Turtles -- Fiction.

Racing -- Fiction.

Perseverance -- Fiction.

Self-confidence -- Fiction.

Picture books.

First Title value, for Searching:

The fastest tortoise in town / Howard Calvert ; illustrated by Karen Obuhanych.

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Summary

The fable of the tortoise and the hare receives a charming new spin in this wonderfully illustrated, cheering tale about a lovable and relatable trouper.

Barbara Hendricks, a tortoise, has entered a road race, but what was she thinking? With only a week to go before the big day, she worries that she doesn't stand a chance against the other animals competing. Barbara's friend and owner, Lorraine, inspires her to train a little bit more each day and coaxes her out of her shell when the race day arrives. How intimidating to line up next to the slow loris, the snail, the sloth, and the walrus! But Barbara realizes that if she just tries her best, she's already won. Adorably illustrated in rich color and detail and told with splashes of dry humor, this touching story of perseverance celebrates all that can be accomplished with a little preparation and a lot of self-love.

Author Notes

Howard Calvert is a children's book author and magazine journalist. He enjoys spending time outdoors trail running and mountain biking. Howard Calvert lives in Hampshire, England, with his wife and two daughters.

Karen Obuhanych was raised in California, where she enjoyed the outdoors, sports, and doing anything creative. Inspired by annual trips to Hawaii, where her father grew up, she moved to Oahu to attend the University of Hawai'i at Manoa and graduated with a BFA in painting. Karen Obuhanych currently resides on the Big Island of Hawaii.

Reviews (3)

School Library Journal Review

Gr 1--4--Surprised by her own spontaneous act, Barbara Hendricks has signed up for a running race. Barbara is a leopard tortoise and really isn't sure why she signed up to run against other animals. Filled with self-doubt, she is fortunate to have an owner and best friend, Lorraine, who believes in her. Together they spend the week training for the race. Multiple panels filled with colorful and humorous mixed media illustrations capture Barbara's hard efforts to prepare for the race despite the fact that everything is faster than she is. Race day comes and, with the encouragement of her friend, Barbara steps up to the starting line. Her competition, it turns out, is a collection of some of the slowest animals in the world, including a snail, a slow loris, and a sloth. Multiple panels "speed" the race along and the action is gripping as Barbara just tries her hardest. Surprisingly, even to herself, she accomplishes her goal: she finishes the race! Even more shockingly, she wins. This delightful story has a hero who works hard, accepts her limitations, and perseveres despite the odds. Children will root for Barbara and hopefully capture some of her can-do spirit and hard work ethic along the way. VERDICT With a funny twist that story hour listeners will love--a hare challenges Barbara to a race--this book packs a lot of great lessons into a charming story, and is certainly one to add to the sports shelves, or the good sports shelves. Recommended.--John Scott

Publisher's Weekly Review

Anyone who has optimistically signed up for a fun run will see themselves in friendly faced Barbara Hendricks, the "regular leopard tortoise" who narrates this sweetly rendered variation on Aesop's "The Tortoise and the Hare." Barbara is a bundle of nerves ahead of the big day, but she has a champion, too--"my owner and best friend, Lorraine," a bespectacled child portrayed with brown skin--who believes in her unconditionally. Lorraine leads Barbara through a crash-training regimen (they're overtaken by "an absentminded worm" and a newly walking toddler). And on game day, the child encourages the tortoise to "just run your own race." Though Barbara spies a snail, a slow loris, and a sloth ("the fastest animals I've ever seen!") at the starting line, her strategy of putting one foot in front of the other, again and again, pays off. Calvert (Lots of Frogs) creates a lovable everytortoise via Barbara's entertaining account, nodding to the original fable with the appearance of a new, long-eared challenger at book's end. In moving mixed-media images of expressive figures and bustling townsfolk portrayed with various skin tones, Obuhanych (This Little Kitty) delivers visual laughs and creates a tortoise to root for. Ages 3--7. (Apr.)

Kirkus Review

Believing in yourself helps when the odds seem stacked against you, as exemplified in this clever tale. Barbara Hendricks, a self-described "regular leopard tortoise," is seriously perturbed. Her owner and best friend, Lorraine, has done the unthinkable and entered her in a fun run against other animals. Why? Because, as it happens, Lorraine believes in her pet. "I've never seen a faster tortoise than you, Barbara Hendricks." Barbara is skeptical, but that doesn't stop Lorraine from initiating a training sequence straight out of Rocky. At first the small shelled creature is depressed by her chances (being beaten while out for a practice run by an absent-minded worm doesn't help). But on the big day, she realizes that if she doesn't even try, she'll never know if the training was worth anything. Kids will get a big laugh when they see Barbara's less-than-speedy competitors (the slow loris is a particularly nice touch), and her eventual triumph is complemented by a surprise ending that will delight Aesop-savvy kids. Mixed-media art brings Barbara's pathos to brilliant life (who knew a tortoise could emote?), and any child who has faced a seemingly impossible task will relate to Barbara right to the end. Consider pairing alongside Carrie Finison's Hurry, Little Tortoise, Time for School (2022), which features an equally dedicated protagonist. (This book was reviewed digitally.) Slow and steady? Call this tortoise shell-bent and dedicated. A charmer. (Picture book. 3-6) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.