About the Book
Gorgeous first chapter books with a chapter for each night of the week, created by the mother-daughter pairing of master storyteller Shirley Hughes, and her incredibly talented daughter Clara Vulliamy
Introducing Dixie O'Day and also, of course, his friend Percy! This dashing duo are always getting into adventures - here they enter the All-Day Car Race little knowing what is ahead of them! Dixie and Percy run into all sorts of peril, as does their arch enemy, Lou Ella. But who will win, and will Lou Ella get her comeuppance?
About the Author :
Shirley Hughes (Author)
Shirley Hughes illustrated more than 200 children's books and is one of the best-loved writers for children, known for her beloved classics including the Alfie and Annie Rose stories, and Dogger.
Shirley Hughes was born in West Kirby, near Liverpool, in 1927, and studied fashion and dress design at Liverpool Art School, before continuing her studies at the Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art in Oxford. She started her career as a freelance illustrator in London, illustrating other writers' work, including Noel Streatfeild, Alison Uttley, Ian Seraillier and notably Dorothy Edwards's My Naughty Little Sister series.
Shirley began to write and draw her own picture books when her children were young. Her first book - Lucy and Tom's Day - was published in 1960, and she followed it with, among others, Dogger, and the Alfie series. Her books include the wordless picture book Up and Up, collection of rhymes and poems Out and About, and for the very young The Nursery Collection.
She wrote two novels for older children, Hero on a Bicycle, about a 13-year-old Italian boy during the occupation of Florence, and Whistling in the Dark, set during the Liverpool Blitz. Her memoir, A Life Drawing, was published in 2002.
She also collaborated with her daughter, Clara Vulliamy, on the Dixie O'Day series; which saw Shirley with an illustrator for the first time with Shirley writing the text and Clara creating the illustrations.
In 2020 she returned to her much-loved character, Dogger, with a new story Dogger's Christmas.
Shirley Hughes has won the Other Award, the Eleanor Farjeon Award, and the Kate Greenaway Medal for Illustration twice, for Dogger in 1977 and for Ella's Big Chance in 2003. In 2007 Dogger was voted the public's favourite Greenaway winner of all time. She was Highly Commended for the Greenaway Medal for The Lion and the Unicorn in 1998. Shirley received an OBE in 1999 for services to Children's Literature, and a CBE in 2017. She was a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature and was the first recipient of BookTrust's Lifetime Achievement Award.
Shirley died in London in 2022.
Clara Vulliamy (Illustrator)
Clara was born in Notting Hill, and studied at Chelsea School of Art, The Ruskin in Oxford, and The Royal Academy. She began her career by doing illustrations in newspapers and magazines, and started doing books for children when she had children of her own. Clara lives in Twickenham with her husband and two grown-up children.
Review :
The first in a witty and beautifully designed series for emerging readers… Vulliamy’s crisp, lively images – black and white, with a single colour on every page, plus diagrams and comical details – deserve to be savoured
Toad of Toad Hall would enjoy this as bedtime reading… Vulliamy’s perky drawings are as accessible as a superior comic and guaranteed, alongside Hughes’s racey narrative, to get young readers behind the wheel
This collaboration is one that many a children’s literature enthusiast has been hoping for and awaiting with great trepidation for a long, long time. It does not disappoint, for Dixie O’Day in the Fast Lane is a gorgeous little book. Visually, the book is stunning. The design of the book is also immaculate and so attractive...
This feast of beautifully nostalgic merriment will definitely be a winner with adults, but Dixie O’Day in the Fast Lane is first and foremost a cleverly written chapter book for newly independent readers...
Dixie O’Day in the Fast Lane is a little book to truly treasure, which has all the ingredients to become a firm favourite with little readers.
This is perfect for new readers with fun and lively illustrations punctuating the story throughout
Children of this age will chuckle at the first of a series by mother and daughter duo Shirley Hughes and Clara Vulliamy... it stars friends Dixie O'Day and his sidekick Percy. Daring Dixie loves custard creams, watching cookery programmes and driving his sports car to the seaside with Percy. The book also includes maps and a list of games to play on car journeys, just the ticket for the festive season.
This is pitched perfectly for its intended audience and would be a wonderful book for a newly independent reader. It is cleverly broken up into seven short chapters, one for each day of the week ... The book itself is a visual treat. Everything about it is just gorgeous for little children from the small, chunky, hardback feel of it which is perfect for small hands to the cheerful illustrations in tones of red, black and white. There is a stylish, retro feel to the overall look which is very appealing. I wanted to keep picking this up to have another look and each page contains lots of detail for children to explore and talk about.
The extras included deserve a special mention adding much to the overall enjoyment. ... I loved this happy book and think young children (and their parents!) will too. Highly recommended.
This is a fast-paced short chapter book (perhaps as you would expect from a book about racing!) but it pauses in just the right places for the laughs.
To get children's attention when it comes to reading, you have to have engaging characters - and situations... and Dixie O'Day has both in spades. Aimed at children who have just gained the confidence to read alone, this charming and utterly brilliant story, which kicks off a new series, is also perfect for sharing. The illustrations suck you in, the story will have you smiling, then laughing... Absolutely brilliant!
The book has a nostalgic feel, which gives the impression that it is a classic already, with simple red, white and black illustrations, and there are some added bonuses in the form of a detailed map prior to the story illustrating the adventure, and a quiz which will support any young reader to dip back into the text to find the textual references. This is a fast-paced short chapter book but it pauses in just the right places for the laughs. Ages 5-9.
Clara Vulliamy’s illustrations are filled with a nostalgic charm that perfectly complements her mother’s writing.The characters are brilliantly created, with my favourite being the duo’s neighbour and nemesis, Lou Ella. Adults can marvel at the overall design of the book and chuckle along to the pop-culture references scattered throughout. With activities at the back and an introduction to the characters at the front, this delightful book is also so much more than just a story. With such close attention to creating something to treasure, by one of England’s own treasures when it comes to younger fiction, I feel I can easily make the claim that Dixie O’Day will still be found on shelves in 2043 (gosh that seems such a long way away).
