Sophie Masson (text), and Cheryl Orsini (illustrator), Four on the Run, Christmas Press, September 2020, 72 pp., RRP $13.99 (pbk), ISBN 9780648194576
I’ve always loved watching children play, their imaginations taking hold as they create lives and voices for inanimate objects. Four on the Run is much like a storyline taken from a child’s playtime – four vehicles with distinct personalities set off on an adventure that tests friendships and puts them in danger. The vehicles have heard they are to be sold to the scrap yard and so they run away, encountering traffic jams, police cars, musical performances, and a daring escapade in a monster truck arena.
The book speeds through seven bite-sized chapters of double-spaced type. The font is on the smaller size and there are only a couple of pictures each chapter, so the book is possibly more suited for children who are becoming competent readers of early chapter books. Orsini’s illustrations are full-page black and white line drawings that help develop the vehicles’ personalities while creating a sense of fun and movement.
I found it tricky to keep up with all the names and vehicles and follow the dialogue, but my seven-year-old didn’t seem to have difficulty with this, and said she enjoyed the book. I suspect that Masson’s ability to understand what works for children is why she’s such a successful author with over 70 books published.
Four on the Run is a great book for car-obsessed children in the early primary grades.
Reviewed by Bec Blakeney
