The Princess and the Pit Stop by Tom Angleberger, illustrated by Dan Santat (9781419728488)

In a car race, the princess is forced to pull off for a pit stop to refuel. While in the pit stop, she is told that she is in last place with only one lap to go. Maybe it is time to give up? But instead she hits the gas. Car by car, she moves up through the ranks, passing different fairy tale characters along the way. Narrated by the Frog Prince speaking into a mic, the excitement builds. She goes over Tom Thumb and under the giant. She zooms past other characters like the Big Bad Wolf, the Three Little Pigs, the Seven Dwarves, the Ugly Duckling and many more. In the end, it is down to her and the Ugly Stepsisters as they race up to a cliff’s edge.

Angleberger writes with a directness that works very well for a book told primarily through a microphone and an excited frog. The book could have been just a list of different storybook characters, but with Angleberger’s humor it becomes a series of jokes and puns that make the book really rev. Santat’s art is stellar, creating a book with lots of different perspectives. It incorporates the feel of a graphic novel and also has the colorful playfulness of a picture book.

A funny and incredible book filled with girl power and glory. Appropriate for ages 4-6.

Reviewed from copy provided by Abrams Books for Young Readers.