Wheels on the Race Car-
written by Alexander Zane
Wheels of the Race Car is a fun and
entertaining children's book. It's
colorful illustrations are creative and work
beautifully with the flowing text. It
will be one of your little racerchick's
favorite bedtime story books - I guarantee it
- Nika of racerchicks.com
 We
spoke with Alexander Zane, author of The
Wheels on the Race Car (Scholastic Books,
2005) at his home in Tivoli, New York. A
computer software developer by day, Zane
writes at night in the attic office of his
Victorian house overlooking the Hudson River.
He is the father of three children, and a
die-hard Ricky Rudd fan. The Wheels on the
Race Car has been recommended by Kelley
Earnhardt Elledge, “Awesome Illustrations. My
daughter loved the book.”
How did you come to
write this book?
I was sitting with my two-year old daughter,
Avis, watching a race and I started to hum
“The Wheels on the Bus” song to keep her
entertained. We had recently bought that book
and I had been reading it aloud to Avis and
her sister, Geneva. As I hummed the song, I
began making up new lyrics, changing the
chorus to “The Wheels on the Race Car.” After
awhile I thought to myself: “This is a good
idea. I think people would like this!” I wrote
down the new lyrics and approached a friend,
James Warhola, who is a well-known author and
illustrator of children’s books but not a
racing fan. He thought it was a good idea,
too, and agreed to make a dummy – a mock-up of
a few pages with words and illustrations. I
wrote more stanzas focusing on the sounds of a
race. I had to educate James by giving him a
lot of racing magazines and sitting him down
to watch some races so that he could create
some realistic scenes and characters. He was
fascinated by the colors, and spent a lot of
effort on his drawings so as to convey the
sense of speed, and the excitement of being at
the track.
Was it hard to get
the book published?
Not at all. We sent the dummy to an editor at
Scholastic Books who James had worked with,
and the editor loved the book. At that time
the illustrations were of men – real people –
driving these stylized stock cars, but midway
through I had the idea – let’s do animals
driving convertibles, so that kids can see
their expressions – and then James was
inspired. He drew amazingly cute and lovable
animals with lots of personality – a
menagerie. He did some sketches and I realized
that the animals needed some sponsors. We had
a lot of fun coming up with funny companies –
puns on known products and companies -- and we
worked our children’s names into the made-up
ads: “Avis’s Throat Lozenges” driven by a
giraffe – that kind of thing. Our kids really
enjoy showing their friends their names
embedded in the illustrations.
What would you say
the appeal of the book is?
I think the biggest appeal for both kids and
their parents is James’s wonderful drawings:
the way he’s filled the pages with colorful
details of animals mimicking drivers, pit
crews, and fans: changing tires, tipping gas
cans, working on engines, rooting for their
favorite drivers in the stands. The drivers
even have rivalries; the penguin is the kind
of driver who wants to win at all costs and is
a really sore loser. He (or she) is the kind
of driver who puts the chrome horn in the back
of his competitors as he’s entering the corner
and spin them out – you know what I mean – the
kind of driver who will ride over other cars
to get to the front. Then there’s the dog, the
hero of the book, in his Hot Rod Hot Dog car,
who is more easy-going and obviously having
fun. He’s got a dog treat on the seat beside
him, and his ears are flying back in the wind.
You can’t help but root for him.
Is there a lesson
here?
Yes, that sportsmanship counts. It’s not how
many you win but how you win. That’s a quote
from the sequel I just wrote. Its working
title is “Lucky Dog’s Race Day. “ I’m a big
fan of Benny Parsons and Ricky Rudd who both
play fair and don’t boast and get along with
the other drivers. I also like that parents
can enjoy the puns and little jokes in the
book and the kids are entertained by the cute
animals and the cars and the race itself.
So, obviously,
you’re a big racing fan yourself. How did you
get interested in motor sports?
As a child, growing up in Massachusetts, I
always watched the Indy 500 and Nascar races
on “Wide World of Sports.” I saw the first
Daytona 500 that was broadcast as a whole race
in the seventies. I remember that Cal
Yarborough got in a fight with one of the
Allison brothers during the race after they’d
collided. Then the other Allison brother
stopped and joined the fracas. From that point
on, I was hooked. I liked that racing was all
about the drivers and their personalities and
skills and that there were these family
loyalties and long-standing rivalries between
drivers.
My family thought I was
nuts – they had no interest in racing – but I
loved racing almost as much as I loved
baseball. I was a big David Pearson fan; I
always went for the underdog. This is probably
because I’m a Red Sox fan. I rooted for Harry
Gant, Benny Parsons, and Ricky Rudd. I also
root for any driver who is from the area where
my wife was raised: Spindale, North Carolina.
The book is in memory of my wife’s
grandfather, Richard Guffey, who often took
her with him to watch the races from the
infields of Daytona, Rockingham, North
Wilkesboro, and Charlotte. I think that her
grandfather being an early NASCAR fan played a
not too small part in our getting married; it
certainly made her stand out from the other
girls.
What are your plans
for the book?
I’ve been doing some readings. You may see me
this summer at your local race track, selling
the book, or at your local bookstore giving a
reading – I sing the book, by the way. We came
up with movements that illustrate what’s
happening in the stanza and James drew them
for the end papers of the book. We try to give
an instrument to every child and James does
all the gestures as we sing. It gets pretty
loud and wild.. The response for kids – girls
as well as boys – has been wonderful. One
mother told me that her son made her read it
to her twice every night, and that the water
buffalo driver was his favorite. I think
different animals appeal to different kids.
I’d love to see the
book featured on an educational TV series;
it’s gotten some great reviews and it’s been
featured on some websites. There aren’t a lot
of racing books for children, and I think of
The Wheels on the Race Car” as a book that can
be shared by all different generations of
fans. Call me crazy, but I have a dream that
our song will become for racing what “Take Me
Out to the Ball Game” is for baseball.
We at racerchicks.com
thank Alexander Zane for taking the time to
speak with us, and most of all for a truly
magical children's book.
For more information
and to view select pages from the book -see the website
HERE
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