There's Nothing Faster Than a Cheetah

by Tom Nicoll, Ross Collins (Illustrator)

Three, two, one . . . the race has begun and the animals are off!
Rhinos on roller-skates, foxes in fire engines, lions in lorries, penguins on pogo sticks . . .
There's nothing faster than a cheetah.
Or is there . . . ?

Genres: Picture Books, Humor, Childrens

32 pages, Paperback

Published January 19, 2023

About the author

Tom Nicoll is an award-winning writer of funny books for children, including the There's a Dragon in my... series and Boyband of the Apocalypse, which won the Stockton Children's Book of the Year 2019. He is also an avid, though arguably not-very-good, gamer and has written a video-game based series for younger readers called Level Up!

Tom started writing when he was at school, but forgot to stop when he left. It's now gotten quite out of hand with ten books having been published with his name plastered all over them.

He lives just outside Edinburgh with his wife and two daughters. When he's not writing, reading or playing videogames badly he enjoys imagining he should have other interests.

Reviews

[Mehsi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Remember the tale of the hare and the turtle? Well, get ready for a new tale, this time the Cheetah vs the Snail (and well also other animals).


I have had my eyes on this book for a while and then in April I could finally buy it! Whoo! I just love picture books and this one look spectacularly fun~

In this one we follow a race between animals who all have their own ways to get to the finish line. From penguin on pogo sticks to a motorcycle gang of mice to a hippo floating about (yes, really). It was a feast for the eyes, though I did feel for the animals as Cheetah just runs and runs and dashes and jumps. Seemingly not getting tired! I was just rooting for anyone to win!

I absolutely loved seeing the snails appear on each page (yes, be sure to look around closely as sometimes they aren’t easily spotted) carrying all sorts of things and I was just dang curious what they are going to make… and if it would be enough to beat a Cheetah… or not. I really looked forward to it and along the way I just enjoyed all the other inventions and contraptions everyone used.

The ending had me in stitches and I was cheering and WHOOOING and it was just great~ I won’t spoil anything.

The illustrations by Ross Collins are just perfection. I love the style, love how colourful it was, love how it fitted with the fun story!

All in all, I would recommend this picture book to all~

Review first posted at https://twirlingbookprincess.com/

[Lisa - *OwlBeSatReading* · Rating 5 out of 5]

My granddaughter (3) chose this from the library mainly because she loved the colour of the cover and the liked the penguins jumping on pogo sticks and the mouse on a motorbike! When we started reading we discovered it was about a crazy animal race and the first thing my GD said was ‘there’s a snail, he won’t win the race because he’s slow’. I then explained to her that the cheetah was the fastest land animal and did she think he’d win? And she replied ‘maybe’. So we continued the story.

Firstly, from an adults point of view what stands out the most is the vibrant and very funny illustrations that fill the pages. The text is dotted around the page making the reading experience fun and ensuring we were looking all over the pages at the different animals using different forms of transport to perhaps make themselves quicker. This book kept my GD engaged from cover to cover. She asked lots of questions about the different animals, the funny expressions on their faces made us laugh. The animals were described with alliteration which made for a lovely flow to the way it read. Same letter and/or sound in a sentence is something I’ve noticed children enjoy, so when the story came to an end and the animals reached the finish line, the ‘seventeen sneaky snails’ had a surprise in store for the reader. (No spoilers here!)

My GD had a lot of fun with me reading this and asked me not to return it to the library yet as she wants to read it again and again and again!

[Lisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Looking for a laugh out loud book then There's Nothing Faster than a Cheetah is for you. Just keep an eye on those cheeky snails!

The shocking pink cover gives you a glimpse into the fun to be had inside. The first illustration inside gave me a blast from the past back to one of my favourite movies - Disney's Robin Hood; love the pink and orange adorned hippo!

The end papers are silhouettes of different animals and how many km/h they move. These would make great starting points for a maths/ science project.

The writing is gloriously, hilarious and the images compliment the mayhem perfectly. We loved the subtle little illustrations of the cheeky snails and how they start to build up a different version of the story to what is being written. Don't forget to turn to the very last page after the final endpapers - we couldn't stop laughing and repeating the words. Brilliant! Thank you Macmillan for kindly sending for review.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this little gem of a book at the Turtleback zoo gift shop. The last line of the book was really a tongue twister. I read it to my preteen niece and she said it wasn’t as laugh out loud funny as the cover suggested. It’s definitely better if you read it with exaggerated incredulous voices. Plus the top pictures are in the front - penguins on pogo sticks!! and rhinos on roller skates!!!

[Sanna lukee lapselle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Näissä käännetyissä hassuttelukirjoissa on aina vähän se ongelma, että kaikki jutut eivät toimi suomeksi samalla tavalla kuin alkuperäiskielellä. Tämän kirjan lukeminen jäi muutamaan kertaan, ei vaan niin napannut, vaikkei siinä varsinaisesti mitään isoa vikaa olekaan.

[Kelsey Preston]

This was a great way about different animals trying to find a way to beat the fastest animal on earth. I also really loved the illustrations. It would also be great to be used for a science lesson discussing animals and how fast the various animals on earth are.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Science facts are trounced by silliness - and sneaky snails.

[Tapani Aulu · Rating 3 out of 5]

Eläinten nopeuksista tarinaa. Paras osa oli kansilehdillä olleet oikeat nopeusvertailut.

[Susan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful illustrations and snappy text - grandson (4yo) enjoyed looking for the snails 🐌 on each page. Very engaging.

[Kalilah · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely love the illustrations, they perfectly complement the story which is ridiculous and fun.