My son, Liam, is obsessed with cars, especially the really fast, fancy ones. He saw this book about the McLaren 720S at the school library and practically begged to bring it home. He's always drawing cars and looking up stats online, so a whole book dedicated to one model seemed right up his alley. Honestly, anything that gets him excited about reading is a win in my book.
Liam devoured this thing in about an hour. He kept rattling off facts about the engine, the aerodynamics, and the top speed. I’m not going to pretend I understood half of it, but he was definitely engaged. He particularly liked the pictures; they’re all clear and colorful photos of the car from different angles. He did mention that some of the descriptions got a little repetitive, but he still enjoyed learning all the details. He thought it was a good length not too short, not too long. No complaints about it being boring, which is a huge plus with him.
This book is AR level 2.8, which is pretty easy for Liam, who's in fourth grade. But the fact that it’s worth 0.5 AR points made it a quick and painless way to boost his reading points for the quarter. He didn’t struggle with any of the words, and he was able to answer all the AR quiz questions without any help from me, which is always nice. The word count is only 444, so it’s definitely a manageable read even for kids who aren't super into reading.
If your kid is car-crazy, especially if they're into supercars and racing, this is a total no-brainer. It's got enough technical information to keep them interested, but it's presented in a way that's easy to understand. I wouldn't recommend it if your kid isn't already interested in cars. There's not really a plot or story, just a bunch of facts about the McLaren 720S. But for the right kid, it's a great way to encourage reading and learn something new at the same time.