RIDE, ROLL, RUN

School’s out!

It’s 3 p.m., and a group of friends have pent-up energy to release as they slowly head home. Brief rhyming couplets, consisting almost solely of action phrases with a dose of onomatopoeia for fun, capture kids riding skateboards (“Step, push, / Glide, whoosh!”), biking, swinging across monkey bars, playing a variety of games, forming a street band (“Clap, clang. / Bam, bang! / Boom, bop. / Rhythms drop!”), and finally getting drenched in the spray of a hydrant. The kids also turn a blank sidewalk into a canvas for beautiful chalk art with positive messages. Illustrations with vibrant colors and bold contrasts intensify the action on each page. Crisp, stencil-like figures with minimal details are depicted with a range of skin tones and a variety of hairstyles. One child wears a hijab, characters wear glasses, and an actively involved friend uses a wheelchair. Although the digital illustrations suggest an urban setting with geometric architecture, children growing up in the country or suburbs will easily relate—the delight experienced as the school day draws to a close is, after all, sure to resonate with many. (This book was reviewed digitally.)

Pure joy.