Faster! Faster!    by Leslie Patricelli Order:  USA  Can Candlewick, 2013 (2012) Hardcover    Reviewed by Bob Walch Leslie Patricelli turns to her previously published picture book, Higher! Higher!, for the inspiration for this latest book for children three years of age and up. Her text consists of one word, 'Faster!' Yup, that's it! You'll have to rely on Patricelli's evocative illustrations to provide the direction, theme, and ultimate meaning of this adventure. On page one you'll find a little girl in pigtails riding on her father’s back. 'Faster! Faster!' she shouts, pointing at a dog on the opposite page. Then we turn the page and the child is riding on the back of the dog and, on the opposite page there's a small rabbit. 'Faster! Faster!' Next up we see an exhausted dog in the background, our little girl on the rabbit's back and, off in the distance, there's an ostrich with its head in the ground. You know where this is obviously going, right? By the time you've reached the final page the youngster has ridden not only these critters but also a horse, cheetah, and some type of high flying bird plus a dolphin and one very slow and exhausted turtle. 'You're fast, Daddy!' she squeals as she hugs her father at the journey's end. Given the lack of text, what makes this flight of fancy so appealing and delightful are the wonderful images Patricelli has created to illustrate this little girl's very active imagination. Any parent with a high-energy child will probably appreciate what's happening here and perhaps see an underlying meaning that their son or daughter won't grasp. Remember when your kids could run you into the ground in just a matter of minutes when you were on an outing to the park? Note: Opinions expressed in reviews and articles on this site are those of the author(s) and not necessarily those of BookLoons. Find more Kids books on our Shelves or in our book Reviews