Chitty Chitty Bang Bang Over the Moon

March 1, 2014

Gr 3-6-In this third installment of Boyce's reboot of the classic fantasy/adventure series, the Tootings family, who restored the famous magical car, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, find themselves stranded in the past. They are in 1966 London and are unable to return home because their nemesis Tiny Jack has stolen Chitty Chitty Bang Bang in their own time. Thus begins another series of wacky adventures as the Tootings team up with the Potts family (who own Chitty in 1966) to thwart Tiny Jack in his evil scheme to steal the world's most expensive vehicle-the Moon rover. Hijinks include the famous Big Ben clock tower blasting off into space, a desperate trip to the North Pole, and Tiny Jack's brazen theft of the Moon rover. Readers will be breathless as they follow the zany action to its conclusion. Black-and-white illustrations nicely augment the adventures and characters and the pacing is breakneck. Recommended for general purchase.-Gretchen Crowley, Alexandria City Public Libraries, VA

Copyright 2014 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 15, 2014
The third and (probably) final "official" sequel to Ian Fleming's classic sends the redoubtable roadster careening off the planet as well as through time. Following much travel through various eras in previous episodes, the story opens with the dramatic conversion of Big Ben and its tower to a rocket ship. Cottrell Boyce assembles his expanded cast of passengers--the Pott family from the original novel, the latter-day Tootings, and archvillains Tiny Jack and the Nanny--aboard Tiny Jack's orbiting estate, the Chateau Bateau, for a climactic faceoff. There, the terrible tyke has gathered all sorts of earthly landmarks from Stonehenge to the pyramids. Now he needs only Apollo 15's lunar rover to complete his collection of the world's most expensive stolen cars. Can even Chitty Chitty Bang Bang, the original "smart car," get everything and everyone back to their proper times and places? Well-stocked with thrills, from a high-speed ride with the queen of England ("and Lots of Other Places") to a game of Snakes and Ladders played with real snakes, the daffy series zooms to its finish line in suitable high-octane style. Berger's droll character and spot vignettes add plenty of carbonation. One last exhilarating ride: "Ga GOOO ga!!!!" (Fantasy. 10-12)

COPYRIGHT(2014) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

July 1, 2014
In their final adventure, the Tootings meet the Potts, time-traveling car Chitty's original owners, and the families work together to defeat evil villain Tiny Jack, who has stolen landmarks from all over the world. Incessant conflicts, though too neatly resolved, keep the stakes high and propel the madcap plot forward. Berger's black-and-white spot art is nicely matched to Boyce's vivid descriptions.

(Copyright 2014 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)