Barbara Hendricks can’t quite believe it, but she’s entered a race. “Me … just a regular leopard tortoise. RACING. Against other animals.” Her best friend, Lorraine, a brown-skinned human girl, offers both encouragement and training tips. But their long walks to build muscles and stamina are discouraging to Barbara: Everyone passes her, from an absentminded worm to toddler Lily, who’s just learned to walk, to a remote-controlled brachiosaurus. “Don’t worry about what anyone else is doing,” Lorraine tells her. “Just run your own race.” By race day, Barbara doesn’t want to come out of her shell. Lorraine offers gentle encouragement and soon Barbara Hendricks is at the starting line, assessing the competition: “a slug, a snail, a slow loris, a sloth, and Woody the grumpy Walrus … The best of the best, the fastest animals I’ve ever seen!” All Barbara can do is follow Lorraine’s advice and run her own race. The absurdity of the premise paired with the sincerity of the telling is a delight, while the illustrations extend the charm of a story that builds to a hilarious account of the race itself. And first across the finish line is … (Ages 4-7)