Who hasn’t regretted something said from a place of anger, disappointment, or frustration? And thinking back to being a child, who among us wouldn’t have appreciated a book that addressed this topic – so that we knew we weren’t alone in our feelings, could have talked about them with a trusted adult, and learned early on that forgiveness is possible? Enter Speedy and the Race Against Sound, written by Erez Hadad, illustrated by Menahem Halberstadt, and translated from the Hebrew by Gilah Kahn-Hoffmann.
In this sweet story, an exasperated rabbit named Speedy yells insults from his open window toward the home of an elephant friend called Ellie, only to find (almost immediately) that he was wrong in blaming Ellie for his predicament. How to take back the regretted words? Why, intercept them, of course! – except that not even a super-fast rabbit can outrun the speed of sound. The dreaded words reach their mark. What follows? Worry, sadness, tears, even desperation – but then: an accepted apology, relief, laughter, the return to a gentle friendship, and a meaningful lesson learned.
From the viewpoint of PJ Library’s Book Selection Committee, that’s a lot to pack into a 32-page story, and it’s why we chose this book.
October 1, 2025