The Great Plan

by Chase Wheeler

Speed Racer enters the high-octane Sword Mountain Race, but not everyone is in it to win. Some of the competitors are more interested in stealing the new plans for Speed’s car, the Mach 5, than crossing the finish line. Can Speed save the top-secret plans and still win the race?

Genres: Fiction

144 pages, Hardcover

First published January 31, 2008

Reviews

[Fred]

My favorite cartoon as a kid. It was nice to find the Manga style of Speed.

[Thom Brannan]

I don't... I forgot why I had this book, so I read it, and now I forget why I keep this book. Nostalgia, prolly.

[Johnny Bennett]

Having read this book, and being a fan of racing and cars, I have to wonder what the appeal is. I'm not certain I would have been entertained by this childish, very cartoon style of writing at any point in time of my life. The story negates physics and logic, neither of which are required for a good story but both can certainly help. And when you violate physics and logic you generally need a good reason, not just deus ex machina.
One problem is the language used, not that it is vulgar, but word choice is probably higher than the target audience. My 7 year old would probably find this beneath her in plot and yet right about her reading level.

[Anna]

With the big marketing push associated with the new movie, it is no surprise that this book appealed to my 4 1/2 yr old. He is just getting to the age where he enjoys longer chapter books, and this was great because there are enough illustrations to keep him engaged while being read to. The chapters are short and usually end with a mini-cliff hanger that makes my son want to keep going. While there is some mild violence and aggression (car crashes and karate chops), no one is ever really hurt. It's a fun, exciting read for kids.

[Antonio]

I liked this book because he loves to race. And I like racing books because you see them getting trophies just makes you want to get one. And maybe when you read this maybe you'll want to be a racer. And maybe you will be this kind of racer if you want to be a racer choose this way of being a racer when you are one.

[Anthony]

As a young child, i remember watching speed racer everyday. i would watch it everyday. it applied to my love and obsession with cars. then i got the book, and the book was even better, i read it in two days. it expands the story in a new way. A more fun way. I would recommend this book to ages 5-9

[Christopher]

I learned about what the buttons on the steering wheel of the Mach 5 do.

[Jo]

Condescending. Tries too hard to be a cool book!