(2) K-3 Illustrated by Federico Fabiani. “They honk their horn and start to zoom. / Baby’s on the move: Vroom vroom!” A zippy rhyming text and dynamic illustrations track this little speedster as they race through the living room on hands and knees. In blue polka-dotted pjs and a red crash helmet and with a feline “co-driver,” Baby skillfully navigates such obstacles as laundry on a ­drying rack, a carpet of “tickly grass,” an older sibling’s block tow-er, and another sibling’s yoga practice. “Engine revving, they can floor it. / Every-thing they find, explore it!” Both text and art stay focused on the turbo-charged tyke’s single-minded point of view: e.g., house plants and table and chair legs are a jungle with red plastic monkeys dangling from above. Details in the stylish mixed-media illustrations enhance the story (block-building child isn’t happy to find their tower demolished) and offer amusing roadside diversions (toy soldiers seem to direct Baby down a “straightaway”). Finally, Baby sees the finish line; with a final push, they make it: “Parked right on their parent’s knee, / Baby’s where they’re meant to be.” Don’t miss the endpapers, which feature the before (order) and after (­lived-in chaos). (See also Vroom, Baby Driver, Zoom by Alexander, in this issue.)

Reviewer: Kitty Flynn | Horn Book Magazine Issue: November, 2025