From Booklist
Gr. 1-2. Readers get a taste of history plus plenty of action in this lively entry in the Step into Reading series, which will have great appeal for boys. Color artwork, full of exaggeration, movement, and comical detail, catches the fun and excitement of Ford's history-making auto-race defeat of Alexander Winton, which brought in enough cash to allow Ford to start his famous company. The story has no chapter breaks to give newer readers a breather, but the type is large and well spaced, and the action is so involving, especially after the race starts, that kids won't want to stop reading until Ford crosses the finish line. A brief author's note fills in a bit more of the history. Stephanie Zvirin
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved
From the Inside Flap
It’s 1901 and Henry Ford wants to build a car that everyone can own. But first he needs the money to produce it. How will he get it? He enters a car race, of course! Readers will love this fast-paced, fact-based story!
Eat My Dust! Henry Ford's First Race ANNOTATION
Relates the excitement caused by Henry Ford as he drove the "horseless carriage" he built, particularly when he decided to win a race to get money to build a new car that anyone could afford.
FROM THE PUBLISHER
It's 1901 and Henry Ford wants to build a car that everyone can own. But first he needs the money to produce it. How will he get it? He enters a car race, of course! Readers will love this fast-paced, fact-based story!
FROM THE CRITICS
Children's Literature - Susan Hepler, Ph.D.
Using as its base the true story of a race Henry Ford won in 1901, this book tells new readers about how Henry Ford realized his dream to build an automobile that common people could own. Up until then, only the very rich owned cars and most hired drivers because the cars needed constant repair. Ford needed money to start his famous assembly-line product, the Tin Lizzie, as it was later called. So he entered this ten mile race with his mechanic, Spider, who had to lean out on the curved race track to keep the car from turning over. When Ford won, he used his $1000 to start the Ford Motor Company. Short, mostly declarative sentences, arranged in short lines, advance the action while Walz's humorous illustrations reveal little mechanical detail, but mostly rely on exaggeration of movement and expression to keep readers interest. An afterword rewards readers with a bit of information and an old photograph which documents the truth of the story. A good effort that blends facts into an appealing package. 2004, Random House, Ages 6 to 9.
Art & Photography
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