Full Speed Ahead!

September 29, 2014
French design firm Cruschiform’s graphics channel midcentury poster art while comparing the speeds of animals, people, and vehicles. Left-hand pages introduce the speed at which the objects on the facing pages move. Surprising juxtapositions include an alligator paired with a nuclear submarine (both move at 22 mph), and a springbok, dragonfly, sailboarder, mako shark, and fire truck, all members of the 56 mph club. Readers will be intrigued to see how the universe’s slowpokes (such as the seahorse and Galapagos tortoise) measure up to its fastest—like a shooting star, which travels at a whopping 60,000 mph. A glossary provides additional details about each featured subject, along with a definition of speed itself. Ages 4–8.

October 1, 2014
This retro-designed information book has a simple intention: to compare things that go at different speeds. The left-hand page of each spread displays a speed in large type, and on each facing page, animals and vehicles that travel at that speed are illustrated. The speeds go up incrementally from 0.3 kph (sea horse and Galapagos tortoise) to 100,000 kph (shooting star). (English conversions are provided in smaller type.) The "wow" factor is predictably large, and animals often come off as well or better than machines; the humble swift can fly at 200 kph, the same speed as an MD500 helicopter, and a frigate bird can fly as fast as a Formula 1 race car (350 kph). Readers hungry for more than the bare-bones information offered in the spreads can consult the backmatter, which comprises technical descriptions of each vehicle or animal described. There are many nifty factoids that kids will savor, such as the fact that the Earth spins at a mind-blowing average speed of 1,670 kph! The book's French origins are evident; along with the metric units, some vehicles may be unfamiliar to American readers. Nevertheless, the strong, bright graphics and clean lines make the information readily accessible and easy for young children to grasp. Despite its limited scope, both a relatively useful reference and a gee-whiz compendium of cool speed facts. (Informational picture book. 5-10)

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August 1, 2014

PreS-Gr 3-First published in French in 2013, this informational picture book seems more suitable as a coffee-table book, but the information will intrigue curious minds. Various items are presented, grouped from slowest to fastest. Spreads list a speed (in both kilometers and miles per hour) on all-white backgrounds, while facing pages feature drawings of animals, vehicles, or people that operate at that speed, laid out on a royal blue background. The same layout is used for each speed throughout, which feels repetitive. However, the information is unique, and there are some interesting facts on offer; for instance, a seahorse and a Galapagos tortoise travel at the same speed of .3 kilometers (kmh) per hour, or .2 miles per hour, and Earth rotates at 1,700 kmh-the same rate of movement as a traveling bullet. The glossary provides additional facts, along with a thumbnail picture of each. An additional purchase.-Melissa Smith, Royal Oak Public Library, MI

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

December 1, 2014
Preschool-G Children are always fascinated with the fastest of anything: animals, cars, trains, and planes. But what about sea horses, spiders, and centipedes? From the slowest (.2 mph) to the fastest (more than 60,000 mph), the folks at Cruschiform, Marie Cruschi's creative studio in Paris, have compiled a work that is two parts art and one part inquiryand is appropriate for almost all ages. While children may want to hurry through just looking and comparing speeds, older readers will want to revisit the retro graphic illustrations. The large red KM/H (with small blue MPH ) are slant-centered on each left-hand page, with names of each pictured item numbered and listed at the bottom of the page. On the facing page is a red, yellow, black, and white illustration, which incorporates those numbers as reference. As a comparison of animals and machines, it is no doubt interesting, though without a lot of info or resources. As art, however, this is a volume well worth having.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2014, American Library Association.)