Roy Makes a Car

by Mary E. Lyons, Terry Widener (Illustrator)

"If Roy Can't Fix It,
Nobody Can"
Down in Eatonville, Florida, there's a man who can clean spark plugs just by looking at them hard, and who can grease an axle faster than you can say "carburetor." Folks round those parts claim Roy Tyle might just be the best mechanic in the world. But Roy, you know, he never can find an automobile made to suit him. He figures, if a car was built right, there wouldn't be so many collisions out on the road. And so when Roy -- that wonder-making man -- says he's going to make an accident-proof car, there's no telling what he'll cook up behind his double-locked doors....
Based on a tall tale collected by legendary African-American writer Zora Neale Hurston, Mary E. Lyons's souped-up story is perfectly complemented by Terry Widener's bold, dramatic illustrations.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Cars, African American, Fiction, Cultural

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Mary E. Lyons, a former teacher and librarian, became a full-time writer in 1993. She is the author of nineteen books for young readers published by Scribner, Atheneum, Henry Holt, Houghton Mifflin and Oxford University Press.

Born and raised in the American South, Mary Lyons lives in Charlottesville, Virginia, with her husband, Paul. Her publications for adults include The Blue Ridge Tunnel: A Remarkable Engineering Feat in Antebellum Virginia (History Press, 2014), The Virginia Blue Ridge Railroad (History Press, 2015), and Slave Labor on Virginia’s Blue Ridge Railroad (History Press, 2020).

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary E. Lyons' Roy Makes a Car is a witty, fun, gorgeously illustrated African-American folktale adaptation about Roy Tyle of Eatonville, Florida, the ultimate car mechanic (who builds not only an accident-proof car, but then builds another, even better vehicle that he drives to heaven and actually sells to God himself), a wonderful little story to share with young folklore enthusiasts, but Roy Makes a Car is especially suitable for sharing with boys (who are often a bit reluctant to read or listen to the many traditional princess-type folk and fairy tales). And even though I am not all that much of a car fan, I was and remain both charmed and amused by Roy Makes a Car, which is based on a traditional story originally collected by Zora Neale Hurston (a fun and engaging read, with Terry Widener's accompanying illustrations truly being a perfect match to and for Mary E. Lyons' adapted narrative, bright, bold and colourful, with many humorous and amusing touches of whimsy and delight).

The detailed and informative author's note about Flora Neale Hurston is a much appreciated added bonus, as it not only presents interesting information concerning the original folktale of Roy Makes a Car and how Hurston first collected the story, but also numerous details regarding Zora Neale Hurston's life and times, as well as her many contributions to the collecting and study of African-American culture and folklore. And the only possible caveat I will add is that Roy Makes a Car does indeed repeatedly mention God and that God even appears in the story as a minor character (although in a very non-religious and for me thus unproblematic manner) and this could, I guess, in a worst case scenario be deemed unacceptable and offensive reading material to either the fundamentally religious (who might consider the entire concept of Roy driving a car to heaven and selling it to God as blasphemy) or the fundamentally secular (who might shun and despise any mention of God, period).

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Based on a folk-tale that Zora Neale Hurston collected in her hometown of Eatonville, Florida, during her tenure at the Florida Federal Writers' Project, during the Great Depression, Roy Makes a Car is a Tall Tale in the best American tradition, with plenty of ingenuity, and a number of fantastic inventions making an appearance. A mechanic par excellence, Roy eventually become so fed up with the flaws of the automobiles he is forever fixing, that he decides to make one of his own. When he emerges from his garage triumphant, naysayers are not lacking, and he is soon challenged to a number of tests, to prove the worth of his vehicle, and demonstrate the truth of his claim that it is "accident proof."

I can't say that I was initially drawn to this title, or to the illustrations, so I owe my friend Gundula a special thank you (thanks, Gundula!) for reviewing and recommending it! As it turns out, I enjoyed it quite a bit, going along for the 'ride,' and happy to suspend my disbelief. Selling cars to God? Well, the Lord moves in mysterious ways, as they say. Lyons does a good job expanding on her source material, and her narrative is quite amusing - I loved the bit about folks in Georgia wondering "who the heck" Roy was, after finding his cap! The acrylic artwork from Terry Widener is colorful and appealing, and his characters' faces are often very droll, in their expressions. All in all, a solid folkloric retelling, one I would recommend to fans of Tall Tales in general, or African-American folklore specifically!

[Ronyell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have read many folktales before in the past, but I have never read a folktale quite like this one. “Roy Makes a Car” is a children’s book written by Mary E. Lyons along with illustrations by Terry Widener and it was based off of a story collected by Zora Neale Hurston. In this tale, Roy tries to show everyone that he can make a car that can prevent more accidents on the road. Will he succeed? Find out when you read “Roy Makes a Car!”

I have really enjoyed this book! It was quite unusual for a folktale because it was more modern day than any of the other folktales I have read before in the past. Most folktales I have read took place during the 1800s or before that, but this story seems to have taken place during the 1900s, which is kind of recent considering how many folktales take place a long time ago. Anyway, Mary E. Lyons has done an excellent job at retelling this old African-American folktale about a man who wanted to build a car that is accident-proof. I loved how Mary E. Lyons made Roy into a creative character that had ideas that could help the community and Roy inventing a car that can avoid accidents was extremely creative and I wish that in real life, we had cars that could do amazing stunts like Roy’s car could do. I also loved the exaggerated style that Mary E. Lyons brings to the story, such as having Roy’s car perform outrageous stunts to avoid other cars like having his car shrunk underneath a larger car to avoid the larger car. Terry Widener’s illustrations truly capture the exaggerated nature of this book as the characters have outrageous expressions on their faces when they saw the amazing tricks that Roy’s car can do and I loved the images of Roy’s car, which was a black and normal looking automobile, shrinking under a large car to avoid the large car because Roy’s car looked so hilarious when it shrunk underneath that large car.

Overall, “Roy Makes a Car” is a truly brilliant book for children who love reading African-American folktales and who love reading about cars. I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book and the text is simple enough for smaller children to read through.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

[Krista the Krazy Kataloguer · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mary E. Lyons has created a picture book from a bit of folklore collected by Zora Neale Hurston during her time as a WPA folklorist in the 1930s. It's a tall tale about an incredible mechanic who can build amazing (and unbelievable) automobiles. The illustrations by Terry Widener were colorful, with an air of exaggeration appropriate to a tall tale. The story was a bit over the top for my taste, but I think kids will enjoy it.

[Andy Kavanaugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is written by Mary E. Lyons. The illustrator is Terry Widener. The title of my book is "Roy makes a car." Written in 2005. The book is about a mechanic named Roy Tyle. Roy is what some people call the best mechanic in the state of Florida if not the world. Roy is fed up with the average automobile and vows to make one that is faster and safer than normal. He builds one and it looks like any other car but dances around on the road, goes over and under cars and flat out amazes all spectators. He eventually sells the car for a small fortune and decides to make an even better car. He makes one with wings on it and he flies around from now on. One day while he was flying, God asked roy to sell him his car. Roy did sold him his car and god made all of his angels one just like his. The book ends with roy making another car.

Activities:
1.) I would do an activity that lets the students decide what is real and what is fantasy. We did an activity like this in my lit. block class and I think it is neat for the kids and gets them thinking about realism and fantasy.

2.) I would also, depending on the grade, do a lesson where the students get into groups of two or three and have to tell what emotions the characters in the book are displaying (sad,happy,flustered,angry).

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

My almost-five-year-old son picked this book out from our local library last week.

There are so many things about this book that I loved, starting with that eye-catching cover. I loved that I knew where Eatonville is (and Christmas and Boogey's Corner). I've even been to/through Eatonville more than once. I loved that this tale was originally "caught" and put into print by Zora Neale Hurston. I loved that the story featured cars (although probably not as much as my husband loved that). I loved the tall tale itself. And I loved that the internal illustrations were every bit as good as the cover art.

The retelling, I liked. I can't tell you exactly why, but the retelling did not quite work as a picture book. Maybe it just needed to be simplified a bit more. Or maybe the charm didn't translate well in the retelling. I liked it -- I just didn't love it.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an entertaining folktale that embellishes on a short two-paragraph story collected by Zora Neale Hurston. The narrative is fun to read aloud and the illustrations really show how much of a tall tale this story is. We enjoyed reading this book together, although I thought the ending was a bit odd.

This book was selected as one of the books for the November 2013 - Cars and Trucks discussion at the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.

[Betsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating book with a neat historical twist, linking Zora Neale Hurston and her WPA story collecting in Florida to such an interesting, fantastical story. I'm still thinking about this one.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

This tall tale was a little strange. I did like the illustrations.

[Kali Woods · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story about Roy, who is a car mechanic. Roy could fix any problem with cars, and people would bring cars from all over for him to fix. Roy had one issue, no matter how many cars he fixed, he could never find a car made just for him. Roy decided to build his own car, and his car would not be able to get hit. He built the car, people brought their cars to race and try to hit him, they were all unsuccessful. Roy sold that car and made a lot of money. His missed driving and built another car, this one could fly, so God brought it from him and made copies of it for all the angels. Finally, Roy said that he was going to build another car, people can from everywhere, trying to investigate his garage to see what he was working on; however, Roy had the biggest lock on the door. Everyone began to guest what he was building, Roy could not wait to show what he built, however, they would have to wait until he was finished.

[Laurel Blakeman · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book was chosen for the Aesop Prize. The Aesop Prize is given by the Children's Folklore Section of the American Folklore Society upon English language books for children and young adults, both fiction and nonfiction. In this book Roy tells everyone he is going to make a car. The people did not believe in Roy. When the car was made they told Roy to get in because the car probably doesn't even work. Roy proved them wrong again when the car did more than start. Roy wants to make a car so good that it is accident proof. This story would be beneficial to have on a classroom list because it is interesting to hear how the story unfold. In the book they give an authors note saying that this book gets praised for the way it covers the Southern African American speech.

[Rose Rosetree · Rating 5 out of 5]

"If Roy Can't Fix It, Nobody Can"

Trust Zora Neale Hurston to tell this story, and tell it right.

For starters, this story takes place in Eatonville, Florida. And the story feels very human, very real. In simple, but vivid, language we learn about Roy Tyle.

* This man can clean spark plugs just by looking at them hard.
* He can grease an axle faster than you can say "carburetor."
* People who know Roy Tyle believe he's the best mechanic in the world.

DOES THAT MEAN LIFE IS PERFECT FOR ROY?

Definitely not. Nobody else can make cares that are good enough, by Roy's standards. So he decides to build an accident-proof car.

Guess who became Roy's #1 customer? This Goodreader couldn't guess, but maybe you will.

This is quite some FIVE STAR book!

[Tiffany Brown]

This book stems from folklore and is jam packed with good pictures that are defined and right in your face. The story of a man who can fix any car. He is unsatisfied with the cars that are made. He builds a car that is extremely safe and then builds another that he takes to heaven to sell to God himself. The pages of this book are colorful and bold. It keeps the readers watching to see what will come next. This book was not a difficult read. This is suitable for younger children. However the entire family can enjoy this book.

[Jill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roy Tyle is the best car mechanic in the world. He starts designing cars to be accident proof, to fly, and to do all sorts of special things. This book is based on a story collected by Zora Neale Hurston, the famous folklorist. The story is set in the deep South, and the language is written in the deep Southern dialect. It adds a great sense of presence and atmosphere to the story. There's a couple of cute lines, but still, the story is really just about building a car, not much else.

[Jaliyah Hunter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I think this book was amazing because a guy named Roy loved fixing cars for people and he loved his Job so much he decide to make car but it wasn't any type of car it was a Accident-Proof car which means it can avoid accidents but know one believes him so he has to prove them wrong and he does .Then someone wanted to bet him and Roy won! and then he stared to sell his cars for money. I loved this book so much!!!!!!

[Jensen Kniska · Rating 3 out of 5]

Roy Makes a Car is about a car mechanic that makes an accident-proof car. The children that have interests in mechanics in vehicles would have a great time reading this book. At the daycare center that I work at, I could already picture a few students picking up the book and reading it. They will truly enjoy it!! The illustrations are emphasized with acrylic paint because the author wanted the reader to realized that the cars are poorly constructed.

[Suhad Albaat · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book! It is actually probably one of my favorites! I loved how Roy loved helping others with their cars. He loved cars so much he actually made an accident proof car, so then everybody can avoid the accidents. He believes that if a car was built correctly, there would not be many problems, and I love that because he is so right! I also love the illustrations in the book.

[Cassie Busch · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book because it was a more modern folktale than an older folktale. Roy can just look at a car and fix it. When building his own car, he made it accident proof. The illustrations in this book help tell the story. Also, the book takes place in the south so the author writes in a southern dialect. I think this really helps tell the story.

[Kaylee Randall · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting tale about a car mechanic named Roy Tyle. He started to design cars to be "accident proof." This book could teach children that you can do anything you put your mind too! The cover and illustrations are sure to catch your eye! This book is full of imagination. This book could be very entertaining for students and could start a conversation about fantasies.

[Carlie Raybuck · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roy is such an interesting and creative character. He teaches children that being creative can do great things. Children who are interested in cars will definitely find this book interesting and hopefully relate to Roy in some way. It is great for kids to relate to the characters in the books that they read. The illustrations really retold this folklore.

[Jessica Tirone · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot. It was about a Florida man who was known to be the best car mechanic in the area, Roy. he got fed up with how cars were being made and every thing in between. He decided to make his own car and he was successful. I liked this book because it proves you can do anything you set your mind too.

[Mariah Aivazis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Roy Makes a Car is a great African-American folktale. It teaches the lesson that you can do anything you set your mind to. Stories like these I feel are great for teachers to read in their classrooms because it is more than just a story and finding out what the plot is, it teaches a lesson that can be used in life and is relatable for children.

[Connie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very sad this appears to be out of print. Great way to introduce young readers to storytelling of Zora Neale Hurston. Story is fun, appealing to those who like cars, driving, & tall tales. Illustrations are okay. Nice that this picture book re-telling has captured Hurston's fine use of Southern African American dialect. Good read aloud

[Shelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mary E. Lyons adaptation of this tall-tale recounted by Zora Neale Hurston is a wonderful rendition of this storytelling of time long past. I would highly recommend parents and educators pick up a mini-biography on Ms. Hurston and share her remarkable story as well.

[Charlotte Young Bowens · Rating 5 out of 5]

This story blends folklore in an exciting and dynamic way. Its a timeless tale about a man who makes different kinds of cars, it has a fantastical element and incites the spirit of imagination. Awesome children's book.

[Ryo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book for two reasons. First, the main character is a black guy. Unlike other picture books, this book has the main character of the black guy. So far I only read two books that are about African American. Second, the illustration is very neat.

[ashley folman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Around this little town, Roy is the handyman. He can fix anything that the people in the town bring to him and they believe if Roy cant fix it then no one can. They even say that hes the worlds best mechanic, but Roy cant seem to find a car that he likes and fits him.

[Londa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neither one of us (8 yr old and I) were excited about this book very much. My son less than I was. I think I liked the background story more than I liked the actual story. I was trying to pinpoint what went wrong and couldn't figure it out. The illustrations are good and the storyline isn't boring so what happened? I asked my son what he disliked about the story and he had the answer. "It's just about making a car." BINGO! For a story that you expect something magical to happen, it just didn't feel magical. The angel business at the end just felt out of place. Maybe this story would have been more 'magical' at the time it was collected, but now that cars are so 'everyday' it just wasn't. Oh well. I guess sometimes a folk story is better expressed as spoken word only.

[Miss Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

well, the brilliantly written first page is about as quintessentially american tall tale as it can get! "he can grease an axle faster than you can say 'carburetor,' and he can clean spark plugs just by looking at them hard." HA

for fans of the outlandish style of tall tales, this is a winner with its modern twist. Some people, if they are very dogmatically religious, may take umbrage with the idea that Roy sold God a car, that God pays for with money, and that *then* God made cars just like Roy, but come on, its a tall tale.

[Paige · Rating 3 out of 5]

This story is based on a tall tale that I have never heard of. The illustrations are good, the story funny. I would like to read the original just for comparison, but how do you ever find an original tall tale?