Dirt Bike Racer Book

Twelve-year-old Ron Baker finds a minibike while scuba diving and, with the help of a former motorcycle rider and racer, restores the bike and enters competition.

Children's Literature

AGERANGE: Ages 9 to 12.

The newest edition of a classic Matt Christopher sports story throws together a boy and a dirt bike, a rich man and his jealous grandson, a race and a dream. Ron and his friend Tony find the dirt bike when they are diving in the lake. Luckily for Ron, Tony's big brother is a motorcycle mechanic and helps Ron put the bike back together. Having to earn the money for parts and race entry fees gives Ron the incentive to find the work to pay for it all. He takes on odd jobs for an eccentric older man and finds that he was a motorcycle racer in his youth. The man's grandson, however, throws a nasty wrench into Ron's first races. The story is low key--more a series of anecdotes than a story with a strong problem to solve. It is a pleasant story with the characteristic threads of a Matt Christopher book--responsibility, hard work, family closeness, and just deserts. Reviewer: Diane Carver Sekeres, Ph.D.