Late Nate in a Race

February 1, 2012
McCully's beginning reader demonstrates that it takes more than words to make a story. This is a tale of good intentions. Both the artwork, with its wobbly pen lines and disarming characterizations, and a measure of the wordplay speak volumes about welcoming new readers. The words are accessible, the rhymes provide flow and the near-rhymes--"'Eat up, Nate, ' say Jane and Jake"--are one of those little delights that snag the reader's ear. But there is also atonality reminiscent of Dick, Jane and Sally. "The race is today. Mom, Dad, Jake, and Jane are here. Nate is not. He is slow. / It is late. Nate is still not here." Storywise, okay, Nate the mouse is slow, and so be it. He even has a Thoreauvian moment when, as his mother prods him to enter the race, he says, "No. I like to go slow." But he is never allowed to beat that drum, as his mother pushes him to the starting line. Nate, who has shown not a wink of flash, blows by everyone and wins the race by yards. What gives? Did a cat unexpectedly enter the precincts? Did fear give him sudden instincts of skill? Was it steroids? No reason is forthcoming. Once readers have tackled the words, this story deflates with alarming celerity. (Picture book/early reader. 4-8)

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April 1, 2012

PreS-Gr 1-Nate, a young mouse, is the slowest one in his family, and he is still asleep the morning everyone else is dressed and ready to leave for the race. "'You race, too, ' Mom says to Nate.... 'No, I like to go slow.'" However, when the flag drops, he zips down the road with great determination and easily wins the prize. The narrative moves along briskly to a satisfying ending: "Nate likes to go slow-and fast." Attractive pen-and-ink and watercolor illustrations feature lively animals that burst with personality. This straightforward story offers an enjoyable read-alone opportunity and a broad message: don't pigeonhole children.-Barbara Elleman, Eric Carle Museum of Picture Book Art, Amherst, MA

Copyright 2012 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 15, 2012
Preschool-G Nate, a mouse, is always late, especially today, the day when his brother and sister will run in a race. His mom urges him to race, too, but Nate likes to take things slow. That is, until the race starts and all the other animals take off. (Savvy readers may notice the race starters are a hare and a tortoise.) Then Nate remembers his Mom saying, Go, Nate! Of course, he wins the race, and afterward Nate realizes he likes to go both slow and fast. This easy reader is part of the publisher's successful I Like to Read series, replete with large print and short, easy sentences ( Nate zips ). McCully seems to have a fondness for mice (see Picnic, 2003, and First Snow, 2004), and her pen, ink, and watercolor illustrations of the cutely clothed mice appealingly animate the action of the simple story structure. Kids will readily relate and race to find another book like this one that they can read on their own.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2012, American Library Association.)