Fiction - Transportation & Travel, Fiction - Nature, Fiction - General & Miscellaneous, Fiction - Family Life

Rattletrap Car

Name: Rattletrap Car
Author: Phyllis Root
ISBN: 9780763620073

by Phyllis Root, Jill Barton

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Overview

Kids won’t want this hilarious read-aloud ride to end. Who says getting there isn’t half the fun?

It’s hot. Hot, hot, hot! So Junie and Jake and Poppa and the baby want to go to the lake. But can they make it in their rattletrap car? It doesn’t go fast, and it doesn’t go far, but with the help of some razzleberry dazzleberry snazzleberry fizz, a beach ball, a surfboard, and a three-speed, wind-up, paddle-wheel boat, they’re off to the lake where it’s cool, cool, cool! Aaaahhh.
Phyllis Root’s wonderfully inventive wordplay and Jill Barton’s spirited and expressive illustrations make this a read-aloud road trip to remember.

Various disasters threaten to stop Poppa and the children from getting to the lake in their rattletrap car, but they manage to come up with an ingenious solution to each problem.

Synopsis

"A picture book that passes the fun test with flying fizz." — BOOKLIST

It’s hot. Hot, hot, hot! So Junie and Jake and Poppa and the baby want to go to the lake. But can they make it there in their rattletrap car? It doesn’t go fast, and it doesn’t go far — but with the help of some razzleberry dazzleberry snazzleberry fizz, a beach ball, a surfboard, and a three-speed, wind-up, paddle-wheel boat, they’re off to the lake where it’s cool, cool, cool! Phyllis Root’s wonderfully inventive wordplay and Jill Barton’s spirited, expressive illustrations make this a read-aloud road trip to remember.

Publishers Weekly

Will the family's rapidly deteriorating jalopy survive the ride to the lake? Junie, Jakie, the baby and Poppa are so set on a swim to cool off that they're determined their rattletrap car won't disappoint them. Each time the car breaks down which Root evokes with a rousing and ever-growing chorus of onomatopoeia a family member improvises a solution, making ingenious use of a beach toy and car snacks. When the floorboard falls off with a "Whumpety Whomp!," Jakie "put his surf board on the car and he stuck it on tight with chocolate marshmallow fudge delight." Not only does the family make it to the lake, but they make it back home again as well, with a refrain of "flippita fluppita/ fizzelly sizzelly/ wappity bappity/ lumpety bumpety/ clinkety clankety/ bing bang pop!" As in their What Baby Wants, Root and Barton prove that they know how to convey mounting comic mayhem. Root builds her narrative house of cards with plenty of rhythmic repetition and nonsense words, while Barton's sunny, high-spirited watercolors demonstrate that, with a sense of humor, it is possible to move the world or at least a broken-down Tin Lizzie. Ages 4-8. (May) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

About the Author, Phyllis Root

Phyllis Root says this story is based on "all the rattletrap cars I’ve ever driven!"

Jill Barton says she often draws on her memories of her grandfather, a farmer, when illustrating stories set in the country.

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Editorials

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Publishers Weekly

Each time their car breaks down a family member improvises a solution, making ingenious use of a beach toy and car snacks. According to PW, this tale offers "plenty of rhythmic repetition and nonsense words," while the "high-spirited watercolors [convey] a sense of humor." Ages 4-8. (May) Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information.

Children's Literature

On a boiling hot day at home on the farm, there is only one sensible thing for a family to do—pack up some toys and a picnic and head for the cool lake. The journey in the old rattletrap car is anything but smooth, what with a flat tire—"boomsssssss," a collapsing floor¾"whumpety whomp!" and the gas tank and the engine falling off¾"spitter spitter sput!" and "thunketa thunk!" However, the tall-tale use of a beach ball, a surfboard, a thermos of "razzleberry dazzleberry snazzleberry fizz" and a "three-speed, wind-up, paddle-wheel boat" save the car and save the day, enabling the father and his children to reach the lake and enjoy a cooling swim before heading back home. Jill Barton's bright, humorous illustrations provide a perfect counterpart to the rambunctious text, and include a variety of friendly animals who watch the old rattletrap car at each stage of its dramatic journey. 2001, Candlewick Press, $15.99. Ages 4 to 7. Reviewer: Barbara Maitland

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2-On a hot summer day, Junie and Jakie suggested a trip to the lake. Poppa worries about whether or not their old car will make it ("It doesn't go fast and it doesn't go far"), but the family decides to give it a try. They haven't gone far when "boomsssssssss. The tire went flat." Junie knows what to do-she puts her beach ball in the place of the wheel, sticking it on tight with chocolate marshmallow fudge delight. Then, "whumpety whomp!"-the floor falls off. This time, Jakie knows just what to do. A series of other near-disasters follows, each finding a silly remedy with an item that had been packed for the outing, and they make it to the lake. Cumulative stories are most successful when they have a little twist or surprise at the end, and there isn't one here, but the bouncy, creative language more than makes up for that lack. The internal rhymes, alliteration, and creative car sounds make a perfect read-aloud. The watercolor illustrations are full of action as the rattletrap car bounces off the road and seems to rush off the page. The words for the car sounds bounce, too, in their larger, uneven fonts. The illustrations contribute humorous detail capturing the family's alternating despair, inventiveness, and glee at moving again.-Adele Greenlee, Bethel College, St. Paul, MN Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.