Miss Lizzy by George Farrow: Children's Book Review

George Farrow has written a charming children’s book, a poignant tale full of fizz and feeling. Real feeling, because this is not just a children’s book - It’s the autobiography of a truck, the true story of a 1926 Model T Ford Roadster pickup.

Mr. Farrow imagines the feelings of Miss Lizzie’s journey through time, from the day she rolled off an assembly line at the Windsor, Ontario, Ford plant to the present, where she lives in Ancaster surrounded by friends almost 100 years later. 

Lizzie was a working truck. She helped her first owner, Farmer Angus, whose farm was south of Freelton, pull out tree stumps, pull ploughs, haul hay, and drive the family to town to shop and to church on Sundays. She was doing what she was made for but had no days off. 

Then came a tractor, then a sedan, and then came a time for Lizzie to rest. And what a rest it was! She hibernated for thirty-five years until, in 1976, Mr. Mark arrived and took her to a new warm garage in Oakville.

He gently woke Lizzie up, and she began to do the things she was made to do again. This time, not on a farm nor in the fields, now on the road, to car shows and weddings, and so much more.

But that was not the end of her story. On a ride through Prince Edward Island, she encountered Miss Chevy, who was driving too fast on the narrow roads, lost control and smashed into Lizzie!

For a while, Lizzie’s life was uncertain, balanced between the scrapyard and oblivion or a long convalescence. 

Mr. Mark chose convalescence for Lizzie, and with help from Ron Fawcett Motor Carriage Company in Oshawa, she was restored and returned to the work she had hoped to show Farmer Angus in those long ago days, her driving skills. 

What makes this book so entertaining, and not just for kids, is that Miss Lizzie is real. And so is Mr. Mark, Mr. Farrow’s son.

Lizzie now lives in Ancaster with Mr. Mark. Mr. Adam is his grandson, and he keeps Lizzie in such excellent condition that Lizzie says at the end of this magical tale, “I am sure to be driving for many years to come.”

George Farrow, author and illustrator, is in his ninetieth year. This is his first book, another milestone in a very accomplished life as architect, thinker and, most of all, visionary. He has always lived in Oakville.

Lizzie’s most recent outing was December 9 to the Knox Presbyterian Church in downtown Oakville at its annual Christmas Treats and Treasures sale.

The book is available online at Indigo for $36.99 and from George Farrow himself for $30 (which will be donated to Knox). He will personally autograph the book. His email address is [email protected].