Review by Booklist Review
The author of Isabel and the Miracle Baby (2007) offers here a lighter piece for beginning readers. Fiona operates in slow motion: her ice cream turns to milk; her toes wrinkle in the tub; and she frequently misses the school bus. It's a source of annoyance to her parents who live their lives in fast-forward. They enroll her in Speed School, where Fiona's head spins as she attempts to reset her inner tempo. Pearce's succinct text will amuse emerging readers with her only slightly exaggerated references to the hectic pace of modern life. Ritchie's fluid, cartoon-style illustrations are equally adept at conveying the story's speedy absurdities (Mom consuming an entire plate of meatloaf in one gulp) and its more relaxing moments (Fiona smelling the flowers). Best of all, everyone gains an appreciation of the other's sense of timing including where and when each is appropriate. Pair with Helen Lester's Score One for the Sloths! or Stephen Krensky's How Santa Lost His Job (both 2001) for other humorous takes on life in the slow lane.--Weisman, Kay Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-2-Unlike the rest of her fast-moving, multitasking family, Fiona likes to take her time, indulging in long baths, eating her cereal one piece at a time, and brushing each tooth 32 times before school. After she misses the bus, het family decides to send her to Speed School. Soon she has set a class record for rapidity, but she longs to return to her leisurely ways. Moving so fast all the time is making her head spin-literally. When it gets stuck backwards, Fiona leads her family in "Slow School" (doing things at her speed for a while). They gain a greater appreciation for the child's pace, causing her brother to conclude, "Slow doesn't stink...if you're not waiting for the bathroom." Kids like Fiona will identify with her, and others will gain a greater understanding of individual differences. Unfortunately some inconsistencies between the text and images may confuse beginning readers (twice the story refers to characters wearing glasses or goggles when they are not shown in the illustrations). However, the writing in this easy reader is strong, and Pearce includes humorous examples and descriptions of Fiona's predicament.-Jackie Partch, Multnomah County Library, Portland, OR (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Fiona is a slowpoke. She habitually misses the bus because she eats her cereal bits one by one and brushes each tooth thirty-two times. Her family, fed up, sends her to "Speed School." Readers may get a kick out of Fiona's newly acquired multitasking skills, shown in Ritchie's humorous black-and-white cartoon illustrations, but the story's stop-and-smell-the-roses message is aimed squarely at helicopter parents. Copyright 2010 of The Horn Book, Inc. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
This entertaining early reader features Fiona, a girl who really, really likes to stop and smell the roses. Fiona goes through her day in slow motion, taking her time as she gets ready for school, eats dinner, feeds the dog and takes a bath. Her family, on the other hand, lives in fast-forward mode and thrives on multitasking. Frustrated with Fiona's slowness, her parents send her to Speed School, where the class motto is: "The less I see, the faster I will be." Being super speedy does not suit Fiona, so she decides to conduct Slow School for her clan. Her counter-slogan: "[T]he more I see, the better my day will be." In the end, Fiona and her family all learn to operate both slowly and speedily, though Fiona still prefers to take her time. The text is interspersed with black-and-white illustrations that do a stellar job of conveying both leisure and frenzy. A clever early reader with challenging vocabulary and some food for thought to boot. (Early reader. 6-9)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
