I had seen The Wildest Race Ever: The Story of the 1904 Olympic Marathon on Twitter several times late last year and wondered about the book.  I found it at Half Price Books yesterday and sat down to read it, and I am so glad I did. This true story starts out with  St. Louis hosting the World's Fair and America's first Olympics. Hundreds of thousands of people came from all over.  Forty two racers signed up for the Olympic marathon, and only 32 showed up. Readers will love all the twist and turns that happen during the race. Towards the end of the race, there are only 3 runners racing towards the finish line. One drove part of the way in the race, one showed up from Cuba and cut off his pants to look like shorts ( and wants to stop along the way to talk to onlookers so he can practice his English) , and one was  helped by his trainers to cross over the finish line. Some funny things happen, and you will want to keep on reading to see who wins the race. Christie readers will eat this book up!  There are lots of extra pages before and after the story that give all kinds of interesting facts about the race and the runners. Reader engagement will be at an all time high with  the wild ride this book takes them on, and I can't wait to read it as a read aloud!