Available:*
Item Barcode | Collection | Call Number | Status | Item Holds |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 33607002575804 | Picture Books | ASHMAN | Searching... Unknown | Searching... Unavailable |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
A New York Times Notable Children's Book for 2011
Samantha can't wait to try out her new roller skates, but Mama's too busy too help her. What's a girl to do? Well, this girl isn't waiting. While Mama tends to other things, Sammy straps on the skates. First she glides down the hallway. Then she tries the sidewalk. Next, she ventures a bit farther down the street. She's doing great! But when she finds herself cresting Hawthorn Hill, it's too late to stop-- Samantha is on a roll!
Author Notes
Linda Ashman is the author of many critically acclaimed children's books. She lives in Denver, Colorado, with her husband and son and their dogs, Sammy and Stella.
Christine Davenier has illustrated many picture books. She lives in Paris, France.
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-Samantha decides to try out her roller skates for the first time, despite her mother's admonition to wait. She likes skating so much in the house that she hungers for the wide open spaces of the great outdoors. She sneaks outside, and the fun begins. She slowly ascends Hawthorne Hill, but things quickly get out of hand as she careens down the slope and into town. Along the way she runs into various people; knocks over an ice-cream cart; and collects a butterfly net, baseball bat, bridal veil, and kite. As she hits a skateboard ramp, the kite catches the breeze and she sails away, landing in a tree on her very own street. During her flight she drops her ill-gotten goods down to their rightful owners. On the ground again, she zips home where her oblivious mother finds her quietly reading. The rhyming text makes this delightful story tons of fun to read aloud. Davenier's illustrations aptly capture the action with bold colors and plenty of lines indicating motion. She depicts a panoply of emotions using great facial expressions and easy-to-read body language. Cutting back to Mother several times during Samantha's unsanctioned adventure adds another dimension to the tale. A fun book for storytime or individual sharing.-Catherine Callegari, Gay-Kimball Library, Troy, NH (c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
It's rarely a good thing when a picture book goes downhill, but it sure is in this rousing domestic adventure-at least for readers. Samantha, ignoring her busy mother's request that she test her new roller skates another day, straps them on anyway: "Sammy stands and rolls a bit./ Says, 'I knew these skates would fit!/ I'll just try them in the hall./ Mama wouldn't care at all.'?" Ashman (No Dogs Allowed!), meanwhile, sets straight any readers who might be entertaining similar ideas: "(Mama, talking to Aunt Joan,/ would have cared, if she had known.)" Emboldened, Samantha heads outside, but after she crests the top of Hawthorn Hill, she wildly careens downhill, picking up sporting equipment, a bridal veil, and a kite, while leaving the town in shambles. (In the tradition of Alexandra Day's Carl books, Mama is none the wiser when Samantha finally gets home.) Working in pale greens, yellows, and oranges, Davenier's (Miss Lina's Ballerinas) characteristically loose artwork generates a sense of exuberance, motion, and old-fashioned fun, well-suited to Ashman's lively verse. Ages 4-8. (Oct.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.