Dixie O’Day in the Fast Lane
Shirley Hughes & Clara Vulliamy
The Bodley Head
I loved everything about this book – its shape and feel, the cover, the mother/daughter, daughter/mother dedication page,
the introductory interview with the dapper hero Dixie wherein we also meet his best pal Percy, the annotated cast list of other characters
and the map;
all that before the story even starts. There are further delights at the end too, including a taster of the next Dixie adventure and an invitation to young readers to get their creative juices to work designing a marvellous motor. (Teachers – there’s a great opportunity here – children’s designs can be sent to Dixie via his own website: www.dixieoday.com
Dixie O’Day’s classic car is his pride and joy. He takes great care of it and likes nothing better than to take it for a spin in the countryside with Percy seated alongside him.
Dixie’s neighbour is also a car lover but Lou Ella knows nothing about cars and merely wants to impress; in fact she buys a flashy new model every year and is mighty pleased to learn that Dixie’s pride and joy has recently been proving far from reliable.
One day a race is announced.
Both Dixie and Lou Ella set their sights on winning but who will be the first across the line, the ruthless Lou Ella or the ever-helpful, fair-minded Dixie and his co-driver Percy? Suffice it to say, things don’t go smoothly for either party.
This is top class entertainment, perfectly packaged, for those just at the independent stage of reading in particular, but actually for anybody who likes a sparkling story told with unfailing charm and gentle wit and illustrated with equal measures of both. It’s presented in seven chapters but in my experience, it’s a case of ”I want the whole story in one go.” So, shared reading could well be the order of the day.
James reading the story to his brother, Daniel
Clara’s gloriously retro, red, grey, black and white patterned illustrations are perfectly integrated with the text and the whole is definitely more than the sum of its parts, which is saying a lot: both are superb.
A classic series in the making, for sure.
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