The Tortoise and the Hare Race Again (review)

We all know the fable of the tortoise and the hare, but what happened to the pair after their famous race? Bernstein offers one possibility in this quirky followup, in which the hare is a widely ridiculed washout with a potbelly and a chip on his shoulder and the tortoise (now a celebrity and author of a bestselling autobiography) misses his peaceful pre-race life. Both have something to gain from a reversal of the previous race's outcome, so they agree to a Great Race II, planning to ensure the hare's victory this time around. Despite the hare's wearing of multiple alarm clocks, the tortoise once again spots him sleeping through the race, so the tortoise resourcefully pulls out a secret weapon—a stuffed look-alike rabbit with a 5,000-tortoise-power engine that speeds to the finish line. Bernstein's spoof is full of harebrained puns and references to just about every famous bunny, from the Easter Bunny to Pete R. Rabbit, placing the fable in a kid-appealing, intertextual (and intercultural) world. Glass' illustrations add to the satire with frenetic, scribbly lines, a palette of orange, brown, and avocado green, and depictions of a tortoise and hare who are a bit rough around the edges and extremely goofy. Audiences may wonder why the turtle didn't just wake up the hare when he passed, but this is nonetheless sure to provoke snorts-a-plenty from the jaded grade-school set. Pair this with the original tale, and enjoy the diesel-powered, "hare"-raising race to the finish.