Author Tom Angleberger (Origami Yoda series; Inspector Flytrap series) teams up with artist Dan Santat (Lions & Liars; Drawn Together) in The Princess and the Pit Stop, a picture book that brings NASCAR-style racing to the land of fairytales.
"Once upon a time, there was a Princess who made a pit stop. While the Birds and the Beasts changed her tires, her Fairy Godmother told her she was in last place! With just one lap left! SHE MIGHT AS WELL GIVE UP!" The comic-book style panels show the Princess's pit crew members--a gnome, a pig, a bowtie-wearing bunny and the caterpillar from Alice in Wonderland--racing to replace her tires. Fairy Godmother (wearing a noise-cancelling headset) points out the number of laps left; a close-up on the Princess's red face shows her determination to win. Give up? "Instead, the Princess hit the gas!"
A frog in a sparkling gold suit jacket screams into a microphone with the Princess's progress: "SHE PASSED HUMPTY DUMPTY! SHE PASSED ALL THE KING'S HORSES! SHE PASSED ALL THE KING'S MEN!" Watch out Wicked Witches, Hansel and Gretel, Sleeping Beauty and the Wizard of Oz! The Princess is coming for you, Three Bears, Flopsy, Mopsy and Peter Rabbit! Thick black lines dissect the pages into large panels, making it easy for young readers to interpret the action, even as Santat's vividly colored illustrations swerve, flip and rocket across the black lines and off the page. Angleberger's text is simple and silly, switching between direct storytelling (white text on colored backgrounds) and exuberant announcements from the frog (black text in speech bubbles). With its breakneck speed and massive number of storybook references, The Princess and the Pit Stop is sure to be a story time favorite. --Siân Gaetano, children's and YA editor, Shelf Awareness