I Will Race You Through This Book! by Jonathan Fenske

Cover of I Will Race You
Through This Book!
by Jonathan Fenske

The race is on! Jonathan Fenske’s I Will Race You Through This Book! opens with a challenge from Book-It Bunny to see who can reach the end of the book first. But readers must beware of Book-It Bunny, because here is a bunny that will try every trick in the book to win the race—even distracting the hapless reader with reported sightings of flying cows.

Uncluttered illustrations and abundant negative space keep the focus entirely on the characters. Double page spreads are periodically broken up by panels, a framework that will be familiar to existing fans of Fenske’s work. Book-It Bunny’s challenges (and pleas for the reader to slow down and taunts when she briefly pulls ahead) unfold in crisp rhyme. The font is large and clear, with emphasis given to particular words through the use of color, size, and occasionally, texture. All of this adds up to a well-paced story with visual emphasis and rests in all the right places and an exciting text that propels the reader through to the end.

Image from I Will Race You Through This Book!

Fenske excels at establishing character through a handful of facial expressions, and Book-It Bunny is no exception. She transitions from huge-grinned confidence to sweat-drenched doubt in a single page-turn as the reader overtakes her. She is loud and tricksy, and best of all, resilient. The end of the book—and the race—is certainly not enough to stop Book-It Bunny, because she’s already getting ready for the next round. It’s a double win for a young reader, who gets the confidence boost of beating the bunny, as well as insider knowledge of how the bunny is likely to fare in her next race against a snail, who shares a knowing look with the reader.

Image from I Will Race You Through This Book!

This title calls back to both the endearing fable of the tortoise and the hare as well as the rich history of metafictional children’s literature, while still standing strong on its own (speedy) legs. Like its predecessor The Monster At the End of This Book, I Will Race You Through This Book! is literally designed to make kids hurry to the end, even as the characters within beg the reader to slow down. (Although Book-It Bunny’s motives are not nearly as altruistic as Grover’s.) And as with Grover—not to mention the Pigeon—young readers will take particular delight in defying Book-It Bunny, building reading confidence with each turn of the page.

Crisp text, punchy illustrations, hilarious bunny antics, and a race to the finish: What more could you ask for out of a Geisel contender?!