cover image Go-Go-Go!

Go-Go-Go!

David Goldin. ABRAMS, $16.95 (32pp) ISBN 978-0-8109-4141-0

The titular rousing cheer rises from the crowd as indefatigable bicycle racer Maurice conquers considerable and hilarious challenges. In order to pedal his way to victory, he must cope with a hitchhiking elephant and monkey, an underwater detour and an entire marching band. In his first effort as both writer and illustrator, Goldin never spins his wheels. Every spread, rendered in watercolor, ink and found materials, and punctuated with playful typography, emanates goofy electricity--Goldin is a hipster's Dr. Seuss. Readers will cheer along with the clown-like bystanders as Maurice pedals past his nemesis, a greenish racer named Stink who snarls and jeers at the genially oversize hero. From the cotton-candy treetops to a lake bottom filled with goggle-eyed fish, Goldin packs a comic wallop of obstacles in Maurice's quest for the gold. This volume pops a wheelie, entertainmentwise. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)