A Day for Skating

by Sarah Sullivan (Author) Madeline Valentine (Illustrator)

Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade
In a sweet rhyming tale, a young child's first skating adventure on a frozen pond ends with a cozy bedtime story. Tap and step, then slide and turn.Whoops! Fall down.That's how we learn. On a brisk winter's day, the frozen pond is crisscrossed by figure skaters, hockey players, new skaters, and old pros, all gliding across the ice. It's time to bundle up, lace your skates, and give it a try -- then head inside for cocoa and snacks when your cheeks grow rosy and your toes are cold. Back at home, warm bedtime rituals make for the end of a perfect day. But when darkness falls at the pond, who will come out to skate?
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Kirkus

Lovely drawings with simple details, done digitally and using watercolors and colored pencil, move the verse from a brisk, snow-covered day scene to the deeper purple hues of a winter dusk and a final, deeper blue when nighttime creatures enjoy the frozen pond...This winter sports portrayal is a fine and attractive addition to the season's preschool collection.

School Library Journal

PreS-Gr 2--One frozen winter day, a young girl, her dad, and their dog set off for the local skating pond. Together, they try many different activities, falling down and getting back up along the way. After a pause to warm up with some hot chocolate and treats in the snack hut, they are ready for more fun. The cadence and presentation of this story are ideally suited to bedtime reading. Short, rhyming phrases pair beautifully with the artwork. Created using watercolor and colored pencil, the images are detailed and varied, showcasing many of the activities that can be done on and around a frozen pond. Readers will relish the detail captured within the images, from figure skating to building a snowman. A small note on the copyright page reminds readers to always be careful when skating on an unfamiliar pond. VERDICT Readers of all ages will enjoy the quiet calm that descends upon them while sharing this story as they, too, wind down from a day of winter fun.--Mary Lanni, formerly at Denver Public Library

Copyright 2019 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.
Sarah Sullivan
Sarah Sullivan is the author of the picture books Dear Baby: Letters from Your Big Brother, illustrated by Paul Meisel, and Passing the Music Down, illustrated by Barry Root, as well as the novel All That's Missing. Sarah Sullivan has an MFA in writing for children from Vermont College and lives in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Madeline Valentine is the author-illustrator of I Want That Nut and the illustrator of Little Red Henry by Linda Urban. She lives in Queens, New York, with her son and husband.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780763696863
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Candlewick Press (MA)
Publication date
November 05, 2019
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039090 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | New Experience
JUV032170 - Juvenile Fiction | Sports & Recreation | Camping & Outdoor Activities
JUV032120 - Juvenile Fiction | Sports & Recreation | Ice Skating
Library of Congress categories
-

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