AWARDS

Aesop Award Prize 2005
New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing 2005.

REVIEWS

From School Library Journal
Grade 1-5 - During the 1930s, Zora Neale Hurston collected stories for the Florida Federal Writers' Project, including a two-paragraph tale about a mechanic with amazing skill. Lyons has taken that version and, with the ease of a seasoned storyteller, spun a longer yarn. Roy Tyle's abilities are widely known. "Why, he can grease an axle faster than you can say 'carburetor....'" When he claims that he can make an accident-proof automobile, a gambler challenges him. When the car does everything that Roy promised, the gambler pays up, and Roy sells the machine for a bundle. When he builds a model with winged flaps that he flies "way up in the sky," God spies him and buys it on the spot. "'Tain't no telling what he'll try next." Widener's acrylic paintings are as strong and monumental as the tall tale and reminiscent of Thomas Hart Benton's work. Dramatic angles and points of view enhance the excitement of the story. In the opening illustration, readers look into Roy's eye, which is giving a hard look at the spark plug in the foreground. The drama continues as the artist contrasts brilliant outside colors with the dark, mysterious interior of Roy's garage. Dumbfounded facial expressions reflect the story's straight-faced humor. Children will have anything but straight faces when they read or hear this tale. Southern storytelling at its best. -
Carolyn Janssen, Children's Learning Center of the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, OH
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From Booklist
PreS-Gr. 2. Lyons expands a two-paragraph tall tale, collected by Zora Neale Hurston for the Federal Writers' Project in the 1930s, into a wildly funny story about a gifted car mechanic. Roy is so exceptional that he can "grease an axle faster than you can say 'carburetor,' and he can clean spark plugs just by looking at them hard." No one believes him, however, when he says that he can build an accident-proof car, "a stabilated, lubricated, banjo-axled, wing-fendered, low-compression, noncollision car." Perfect for reading aloud, the funny rhythmic words are well matched to Widener's exaggerated acrylic illustrations, which show sly Roy and his huge, flying 1930s-style car. Young car enthusiasts will enjoy the silly mechanical details, and Lyon's lively afterword
about "storycatcher" Hurston is a delight. Hazel Rochman
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved