I received this book from Netgalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

My oldest daughter is a huge fan of graphic novels. She is always looking for new material to read. We’ve actually run into a problem; many of the graphic novels she wants to read are more suited to a teenage audience and the content is a little too mature for an eight-year-old girl.

I was very excited about the opportunity to read March Grand Prix: The Fast and the Furriest because I knew it would be perfect for her. We aren’t familiar with artist Kean Soo, but I’m sure she will want to seek out his Jellaby books after this.

The Fast and the Furriest is broken down into three separate stories, each featuring a rabbit named March Hare whose livelihood involves racing cars. In the first story, March participates in a race around the town. In the second story, March assists his sister with a delivery for her bakery business. In the final story, March participates in a rally race through the desert.

One of the things that I really appreciated about The Fast and Furriest is that there is a lesson to be learned in each of the stories. March is impulsive, and tends not to listen to other people. Being fast is useful on the racecourse, but not slowing down and listening proves to be March’s undoing. Over the course of the three stories, March learns to appreciate that everyone has something to offer and that simply being fast is not enough to be successful.

These lessons are quite overt, but that seems to be the best approach for the target audience. Children aren’t necessarily good with subtlety, and by approaching things directly, Soon can have the most impact. In a way, these three stories are like modern fables- with racecars!

The illustrations are phenomenal. My favorite aspect was the diagrams of the various racecars with all of the parts labeled and the statistics for each vehicle. My oldest daughter is a big fan of Mario Kart, so she was familiar with choosing handling over acceleration or vice versa. Soon infuses a sense of playfulness into his illustrations, and this helped make the reading experience fun.

I would absolutely recommend March Grand Prix: The Fast and the Furriest. This collection will appeal to children in elementary school. My daughter absolutely loved the “cool stories”, and I appreciated that the content is appropriate for all ages. March is a likeable protagonist, and I hope that we can see more of his racing adventures in the future.