{"id":4467,"date":"2011-06-18T23:52:50","date_gmt":"2011-06-19T03:52:50","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=4467"},"modified":"2011-06-18T23:55:52","modified_gmt":"2011-06-19T03:55:52","slug":"review-of-mitchells-license-by-hallie-durand-and-tony-fucile","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sonderbooks.com\/blog\/?p=4467","title":{"rendered":"Review of Mitchell’s License, by Hallie Durand and Tony Fucile"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Mitchell’s License<\/em><\/p>\n

by Hallie Durand
\nillustrated by Tony Fucile<\/p>\n

Candlewick Press, 2011. 40 pages.
\nStarred Review<\/p>\n

Here is an absolutely perfect choice for Father’s Day for fathers of small children. How I wish the creators had written it about 15 years earlier when my son was small and nuts about anything related to cars. Now I will have to settle for reading it in storytime, but what this book really needs is a father ready to act it out. Big thanks to Twenty By Jenny<\/a> for bringing this book to my attention.<\/p>\n

The book begins telling us about a typical three-year-old, but then a twist is added that creates all the fun:<\/p>\n

“Mitchell never ever EVER wanted to go to bed. Until his dad finally said he could drive there. <\/p>\n

“Mitchell was three years, nine months, and five days old when he got his license.”<\/p>\n

The picture there shows Mitchell proudly holding his “Remote-Control Dad Driver’s License.”<\/p>\n

Mitchell drives Dad as so many children do — sitting on his shoulders and steering with the ears. They have a whole lot of fun with it, with Mitchell inspecting the tires, checking the engine, and cleaning the windshield first. There’s a delightful surprise when Mitchell starts out by driving his car right into a wall!<\/p>\n

“The next night, Mitchell remembered to stop and look both ways.
\nHe also learned how to beep the horn.
\nHe liked the way it sounded . . . a lot!”<\/p>\n

You can probably guess what the picture to go with beeping the horn looks like, but wait until you see the vigor with which Mitchell pounds on his Dad’s nose!<\/p>\n

We get to see a few different bedtimes, with Mitchell becoming a skilled driver and adding fun riffs on the theme, like braking to avoid a collision with Mom and adding oil.<\/p>\n

But when Mitchell comes up with a scheme to drive the car to the Gas Station (Cookie Jar), his car malfunctions, and drives him to bed.<\/p>\n

Part of what makes this book so absolutely brilliant are the illustrations. Tony Fucile is an animator, with credits such as The Lion King<\/em> and Finding Nemo<\/em>, and it shows. You almost feel like you’re watching a movie as you flip through the pages, with plenty of emotion showing on the characters’ faces and plenty of motion in the characters’ actions. When I saw the picture of Mitchell’s Dad’s face after he bonked into the wall, I could almost hear a theater full of kids burst out laughing.<\/p>\n

This book is perfect in so many ways. The artwork is not gorgeous, elaborate paintings, but it is absolutely perfect for this story. I hope it will get some Caldecott attention. I notice clever details as I read it again — like Mitchell’s pajamas each night having a car theme, and his room decorated with cars. Mom’s walking by with a laptop, and there’s a cordless phone in a docking station. This is a modern home but fully in the wonderful tradition of books-as-games along with the classic Pete’s a Pizza<\/a><\/em>. Makes me wish I had a toddler to share it with, but meanwhile it brings back wonderful memories of my husband playing with our boys.<\/p>\n

Buy from Amazon.com<\/a><\/p>\n

Find this review on Sonderbooks<\/a> at: www.sonderbooks.com\/Picture_Books\/mitchells_license.html<\/a><\/p>\n

Disclosure: I am an Amazon Affiliate, and will earn a small percentage if you order a book on Amazon after clicking through from my site.<\/p>\n

Source: This review is based on a library book from the Fairfax County Public Library.<\/p>\n

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