Review by Booklist Review
Samantha wants to try her new roller skates, but Mama is busy. So busy that she doesn't notice when Sammy straps the skates on herself and rolls around the house. And out the door. And up the hill. The downhill ride goes by in a whoosh, but along the way, Sammy grabs something from almost everyone she meets: a kite, a baseball bat, an insect net, even a bride's veil. And that's all before she runs into a parade. A turn on a skateboard ramp sends her flying, and the kite keeps her up until she lands right in her own backyard. Want to give those skates a spin? Mama asks. Many perhaps most picture books with rhyming text deteriorate into singsonginess, with proper scanning optional. That's why this one, with its clever and perfect rhymes, is such a pleasure to read. Davenier provides fanciful art that captures both the exuberance of Samantha's skating and the sly twists and turns that keep it a secret from Mama.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by 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.
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by 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.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
Samantha wants to try out her new roller skates, but Mama's busy with the dog, the phone, the new baby. Can Sammy wait? She cannot. She's up and rolling. At first gingerly, holding onto bookcases and chairs, then more confidently, up and down the hall, then too confidently, skating out the door and all the way to the top of Hawthorn Hill. Here commences a wild ride worthy of Mr. Toad, as Sammy hurtles down the steep hill, disrupting activities and gathering up objects as she goes: "Sammy tries to move aside. / It's too late -- they a l collide. / The bride is down. The groom is pale. / Sammy wears the bridal veil." Catapulted into the air via a skateboarder's ramp and kept aloft by a previously acquired kite, Sammy glides over the town, dropping objects down to their rightful owners as she passes, and finally alights on her very own street, safe and sound. "What a thrill!" Davenier's effervescent pencil and watercolor illustrations are a match for the engaging text, propelling the action forward and conveying the madcap quality of the chaos. With its classic story arc (disobedience leading to adventure ending in triumph), its sustained humor, and its light-as-air verse, this is an audience pleaser readers will want to take for repeat rides. martha v. parravano (c) Copyright 2011. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
Things get a bit dicey when plucky Samantha experiments with her new roller skates in one frightening, hilarious inaugural "roll" through town.Eager to try out her new roller skates, Samantha's undaunted when her mother's too busy to help her learn. Instead of putting the skates away as her mother instructs, Samantha puts them on and carefully cruises "through the kitchen, through the den, / Down the hall and back again." Positive her mother won't mind, Samantha slides out the door and skates down the sidewalk andup Hawthorn Hill, where "she doesn't note the long, STEEP slope" until it's too late and she's speeding downhill, very much out of control. Clueless how to brake, Samantha creates havoc as she flies by Will chasing butterflies, bumps into Matt playing ball, snags Katie's kite string, collides with an outdoor bridal party, "Slaloms through the marching band, / Overturns the ice cream stand" and soars up a skateboard ramp. The jaunty text in easy-to-remember couplets starts slowly as Samantha inches along on her new skates and accelerates into a sweeping crescendo memorializing her downward descent. Colored-penciland-watercolor illustrations rely on energized, quick lines to maximize Samantha's exaggerated facial expressions and frantic body language as she careens across the page.A memorable first skate by an irresistible imp. (Picture book. 4-7)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
