Chitty has had its first adventure and now its time for another. However, there continue to be hiccups with this extremely temperamental car. On a ride with the Tooting family they discover that they have travelled into the past and are now in an ancient jungle and a very hungry dinosaur is contemplating them as his dinner.
Time travel
With such an exciting opening, Frank Cottrell Boyce begins Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Race Against Time . Written in the racy, fun style it makes for an easy read. He sustains the excitement through the book and there is never a dull moment. His description of the Tooting family with all their idiosyncrasies, likes and dislikes make them instantly lovable. And of course, by the end of the book it leaves us wishing we had a Chitty in our garage too.
Though this is the second book in the series, it is not necessary to have read the first to follow the story. Though Nanny and Tiny do make a come back.
Stuck in the jungle with a dinosaur hot on their heels, only Little Harry is excited. That’s because he loves dinosaurs…and the only word he can say properly is ‘dinosaur’. But the good thing about travelling in the Chitty is that you can adjust the Chronojuster to whatever era or age you want to be in and then drive off to your destination. But there is a small glitch here as Jem put its… “You can set a course for 1966, Dad, but in the end Chitty will take us wherever she wants to go. She’s up to something and we need to know what.” Sure enough, though Dad had set the Chronojuster to 1966 and their mission was to save the world, Chitty decides to take them to New York, 1926!
Stuck in a traffic jam, with prehistoric spider’s web wrapped around the crank shaft and irritable drivers honking at them, they get to meet a dashing young man. It is none other than Count Zborowski, the original owner of the car!
Reading …And the Race Against Time is to travel from one escapade to another. The book like the car takes you on journeys and adventures you would never have imagined.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and the Race Against Time by Frank Cottrell Boyce, Macmillan, Rs. 299
