Desert Dustup

This first book in the Wheelnuts! series from Knife and Packer (a pseudonym for Duncan McCoshan and Jem Packer) takes readers to the desert town of Wheelie City, where billionaire Warren Wheelnut has organized an auto race “across some of the wildest, craziest terrains on Earth—and beyond!” The competitors include shopaholic pop stars, gurgling babies, and sparkle-obsessed fairies, and the challenges of the course, which include robotic scorpions and the Gulch of a Thousand Mirages, are as outlandish as the vehicles (the Dino-Wagon, piloted by two dinosaurs, is powered by an active volcano). Vivid cartooning and an appropriately quick pace contribute to a wildly goofy ride. Available simultaneously: Spooky Smackdown. Ages 7–10. (Mar.)