Ms. Pennypickle's Remarkable Road Race (#2)

Grabenstein, Chris. Ms. Pennypickle's Remarkable Road Race (#2)
October 13, 2026 by Random House Books for Young Readers

E ARC provided by Netgalley

Benji and Evan weren't supposed to tell anyone that they won Ms. Pennypickle's Puzle Quest, but they post about it online and it goes viral. Jack, who heads up the Idea Circus public relations team working for Ms. Pennypickle's company has to deal with the aftermath and find a way to put a positive spin on it. He and his team decide the best thing to do is to have another amazing road trip, this time on Route 66. His son, Jackson, is told that he can help pick out the contestants, but instead, gets roped into being part of the quest. He can't win, since his father works for Ms. Pennypickle, but he can still compete with Hope Sullivan, whose mother doesn't want to be on camera. Soon, the trio is joining the race alongside a cast of characters that includes snotty teens, wily grandparents, and a young couple. The puzzles take them from the start of the famed highway in Chicago all the way to the Santa Monica Pier, and includes stops such as a giant hot dog statue in Atlanta, Illinois, the Gateway Arch, the Red Rocker in Missouri, and the Golden Driller in Tulsa. Clues show up in pickle jars at the sites, and in letters found on the paper liners of food baskets in diners. Hope and Jackson do a good job of solving puzzles, and family and corporate secrets are revealed along the way. Ms. Pennypickle manages to show up in disguise at many of the venues!

Strengths: Route 66 is a fascinating piece of Americana, and I have read several nonfiction books about the road and its attractions, so this was quite fun. Learning about some of these places to visit would be a great way to spend some hours in the winter, or during testing. Vicarious adventures through fiction are always fun! Jackson and Hope are engaging characters who learn to get along, and the goofy cast of characters helps the story along. There's a twist at the end that was a bit  unusual. There could be more puzzle quests hosted by Ms. Pennypickle, but the books would stand as a duology as well. 

Weaknesses: Jackson's mother died six years ago. The scourge of middle grade parent deaths manages to work its way even into fun road trips. This could have worked just as well if his parents had been divorced. The level of quirk in this might make it more popular in elementary libraries. 
What I really think: This is a good choice for libraries where Grabenstein's Mr. Lemoncello's Library books, Lucido and Corcutt, and Corcutt's Words Apart, or other books containing puzzles are popular. I think I will stick with just the first book, which was a fun adventure that has circulated well.