Street cred

Gr 4-6-These books feature excellent color photos and brief introductory texts. Formula One, the strongest of the trio, traces the history of Grand Prix racing, the development of the cars and their equipment, qualifying and racing, the tracks, safety measures, racing teams, and dominant drivers, with a sidebar on women in F1 racing. Vintage Cars focuses on the development of the automobile in the 1920s. Nielsen discusses the various styles from popular to expensive models, technical innovations, racing and its influence, significant luxury makes, and the current hobby of restoring. Street Cred (for "credibility") discusses modified cars such as tuners, lowriders, customs, and hot rods, and includes features on accessories, wheels, paint jobs, and famous customizers. In all, the illustrations and captions carry at least as much information as the texts. Morganelli's writing is the best organized and most readable, while Zronik tends to stretch his interpretations to make his point (e.g., claiming that the Ford Focus ZX5 was designed "specifically for tuner fans" and that the PT Cruiser has a "powerful" engine). However, each book is an attractive introduction to its topic.-Jeffrey A. French, formerly at Willoughby-Eastlake Public Library, Willowick, OH (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.