Frankie Pickle

"Frankie Pickle and the Pine Run 3000" by Eric Wight. Frankie Pickle is a kid with an overactive imagination. He is a member of the possum scouts and this scout meeting they were passing off knots. Unfortunately Frankie did not pass off the knot like he was supposed to and did not get enough possum points, or awesome points as Frankie puts it, to advance in rank with the rest of his troop. Frankie desperately wants to advance with everyone else and realizes that if he wins the Pun Run 3000 that weekend he can get enough points to advance. His dad offers to help him build a car, but Frankie wants to do it alone. The car Frankie made is destroyed in a race at school and Frankie then asks his dad for help after Frankie learns his dad was a Pine Run 3000 champion himself. Frankie and his dad make an awesome car and he races in the Pine Run 300 to win his points.

Frankie Pickle is a lot like I was as a kid, always off in another world. I really enjoyed how Wight seamlessly transitioned from reality to the imaginative world as Frankie was seeing it. The graphic aspect of the book was excellent which conveyed some rather hilarious scenes, especially the one where Frankie's car is destroyed. The story, although simple and somewhat predictable, gives a good lesson about doing things right the first time. Overall it is a very well written book.