Lance in France by Ashley MacEachern

• 01/07/2014
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Lance in France
Ashley MacEachern
Collins (2008)
ISBN 9780061131929
Reviewed by Cayden (age 4) and Max (age 2) Aures and Mom for Reader Views (6/08)

“Lance in France” takes us on an adventure to witness the Tour de France bicycle race.  We watch as Lance Armstrong overcomes many obstacles such as rainstorms, overzealous fans, and cows in the road, by pedaling faster and faster to win the race.

Max:  “Bike!”

Cayden:  “He is going to race!  I think that he will win!”

Max:  “Race fast!”

Cayden:  “It is raining and he is getting all wet!

Cayden:  “I think that bee stung him on the nose!”

Max:  “Bee!  Bee!”

Cayden:  “Uh oh- he has a flat tire!”

Cayden:  “How is he going to get around all of those things in the road?”

Max:  “Dinosaur!”

Cayden: “Yes, a dinosaur, and a spaceship, a clown, and a lot of other things.”

Cayden:  “He won the race!”

Parent’s comments:
My children were captivated by the bright, entertaining illustrations in the book!  They both love riding bikes and racing so they really enjoyed the storyline as well.  As Lance overcomes each obstacle the text always reads, “He just pedals … faster.”  Both Cayden and Max always yelled out the word “faster” when we got to that sentence.

At the end of the book there is a letter from Lance and also some information about events that occurred throughout the history of the Tour.  There is also a game to find recurring pictures in the book which Cayden really had a lot of fun with.  “Lance in France,” by Ashley MacEachern, is a wonderful book that teaches an excellent lesson to children, which is to never give up!