Behind the Book: Mystery Driver with Anna Aronson

Meet Alice Johnson. She is determined to build the fastest car in the boys-only soap box derby in this empowering true tale of ingenuity, engineering, and the joy of creating your dreams. We chatted with Anna Aronson, illustrator behind MYSTERY DRIVER, to hear her experience about working on this title.

What first drew you to the story of Alice Johnson and the Soap Box Derby? Did you know about her before this project?

I was drawn to Alice’s story the moment I first read through the manuscript. The first thing I noticed was how beautifully written it was. Liz Tracy did such an incredible job crafting this beautiful story with such care and showing all of the emotions of it- from the hard times of the depression, to preparing for the race, and finally the event itself! Liz also makes the science of the story so beautiful and accessible in a way that I really admire. I had not heard of Alice Johnson before the project and it was so lovely to get to know her and her story as I worked on it. The story of how she worked on the car with her dad was also so sweet to me, and of course- how could one not be drawn to a story about a girl joining in a race of all boys as a ‘mystery driver”!

How did you approach illustrating a historical story like this? What kind of research did you do to bring the 1930s to life visually?

My first stop was my local library. I checked out every book they had on the 1930s and specifically children in the 1930s. I also went online and looked at newspapers from the 1930s in the Dayton, Ohio area. My degree is in history and my senior paper was on newspaper research- it was really fun to be able to flex this muscle again! The author, Liz Tracy, was also able to get a film reel from an early Dayton soap box derby digitized and that was incredibly insightful. Alice’s dad was an aviator and I live really close to a fantastic aviation museum where they had replicas of early aviator workshops- I took a lot of inspiration from those exhibits and the early planes they had on display. For example, I used how the Wright Brothers plane wings were wrapped in canvas cut as a bias to inspire how Alice’s car was constructed.

Is there a specific illustration in the book that you’re especially proud of? Why does it stand out to you?

I love the image where you can see Alice losing control of her car through the legs of the spectators. I tried really hard to convey a sense of motion in the book, and I am proud of how it feels like this at certain moments of the race.

What do you hope young readers take away from your illustrations, especially in the context of Alice’s perseverance and creativity?

I hope that young readers see how Alice worked hard to create something, practiced her driving skills, and tried something out of her comfort zone. It is a bonus that she placed in her race, I think the real prize was how she built something and put herself out there! I have a twelve year old daughter, and I am so thankful that I get to share Alice’s story with her.

How has illustrating Mystery Driver influenced your own artistic journey or the kinds of stories you’d like to work on in the future?

I loved working on a historical narrative nonfiction book and I would like to work on more books in that genre. I feel like I grew a lot in visual storytelling- specifically in the pacing of the artwork, the color palette, and especially the emotions of the characters. This book was truly a joy from start to finish. The team at MIT Kids Press is a dream, and I am so grateful to have gotten to work with them!

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MYSTERY DRIVER is published by Candlewick Press, written by Elizabeth Tracy, and is officially on shelves on June 26th, 2025.

Anna is represented by Susan Penny. To work with Anna, get in touch with Susan, here.