Rattletrap Car

"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."Outrageously funny and impossible solutions are offered, showing a sweet Dad and his three children cooperating joyfully in every aspect of their adventure. No reality check is needed here, just high spirits and a rollicking good time." —Kirkus Reviews

"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." —Publishers WeeklyPhyllis 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.