Fast Enough: Bessie Stringfield’s First Ride
Written and Illustrated by Joel Christian Gill
Published by Lion Forge
Pages: 40
Retail Price: $17.99
Before I get into a synopsis for Fast Enough, I want to explain how this book is both a children’s book and a graphic novel. Children’s books tend to have one picture per page with a few sentences on the page describing the action. Graphic novels have what is known as sequential art. Here, You might see someone on the left of the page picking up a glass of milk. But the time the reader gets to the bottom right of the page, that person has consumed the milk and washed the glass through a number of panels or pictures showing the progression of the action.
Fast Enough has a mix of both styles of pages. Also, this book has all of the characters speaking with word balloons much in the style you see in a comic. As the age range recommended for this book is preschool to grade 3, you might say that this book is a primer into comics and graphic novels for young readers; as well as their parents and guardians.
This book is about transportation pioneer Bessie Stringfield when she was a young girl. The other boys in her town wouldn’t let her race bicycles with them. They called her too young, too slow, and too much of a ‘girl.’ But Bessie’s determination helps her to ride a bike and possibly even beat those boys by being ‘fast enough.’
Fast Enough not only has an important message about race and gender but it also seeks to educate more about the life of Stringfield when she grew up. The last 4-6 pages is filled with historical information about the accomplishments and firsts Stringfield held in the world of motorcycle enthusiasm. While I found those pages very informative, these are the most difficult pages for a youngster to follow alone.
The type set of the historical facts pages is 2-3 times smaller than in the main story. Plus, there’s some pretty big words for a preschooler here. Also, the concept of racism explained in this section will most definitely require some explanation and perhaps some uncomfortable (but manageable) Q&A sessions.
If you are familiar with my rating and reviewing of a Family Comic Friday offering, I do not judge a book on concepts explored and examined. I base my rating on the story structure, editing and artwork; all of which in this book was superb. But I do feel that adults should know of any controversial or perhaps age inappropriate sections of these books I cover. It is up to Parents to decide what is appropriate for their wards to read and what’s not.
Fast Enough dives a little into religion. Bessie’s mother has her pray to ‘the man upstairs’ for guidance on how to deal with the boys in town her won’t let her race them. The fact section also talks about Bessie’s Catholic upbringing. If religion is a bit of a caveat in your family, then this book might not be right for you.
I really enjoyed Joel Christian Gill’s look at a pioneering woman of color. It was a interesting change of pace for myself and the types of graphic novels and comics I review for this section. This book has the potential to influence and educate a lot of young hearts and minds of any race, color or gender. Countless women and African Americans and others have been inspired by Stringfield’s courage and sense of adventure. Adults, just make sure to take the journey with the young reader in your life when it comes to this work, as your guidance may help to foster the next generation of Bessies!
Fast Enough: Bessie Stringfield’s First Ride debuted in print and digital platforms on February 5th, 2019.
Worth Consuming!
Rating: 9 out of 10 stars.
