Why read this book?

You want a fast Pinewood Derby car? You want to know why you have a fast car? Then this picture book is for you. Do you think you’ll grow up, or already have grown up, and will want to be a scientist or engineer, or will want to at least understand how cars work?

Are you looking for ways to relate a Pinewood Derby car to real people cars, so that the whole Pinewood Derby experience helps down the line when thinking about people cars?

Pinewood Derby cars allow kids to use wood, hammers, nails, and creativity and competition. The kids can build the car themselves, and learn to use their hands. Through teaching, it is possible that the scout leaders and parents themselves learn more than the scouts from doing the activity.

This picture book compares the Pinewood Derby cars to real cars, and could be read by both the parent and the kid together, to trigger and answer questions. Part of the emphasis of this book is a description of some of the physical reasons a PD car goes fast, reducing drag, and part is a comparison of PD cars to people cars. This book is good in combination with other Pinewood Derby books that more directly describe the step by step process to making a good Pinewood Derby car.

This book has the goal of applying engineering ideas to something that most people are already familiar with, the Pinewood Derby. Maybe people will get some easy appreciation of the engineering ideas, such as energy and drag, as well as get some techniques to increase (or keep) the speed of the car.

This book is one of two versions. This version is lighter and talks about general ideas, without going into any engineering analysis. This lighter version is more fun and appropriate for someone who is not interested in engineering equations. If you want the engineering analysis, then read ’Scout Pinewood Derby Cars and Real Cars’, which is for parents, kids, and engineers. The two versions are mostly the same except the heavier version has appendices with the analysis.