I really liked this book (even though I can see how some parents might protest at the disobedience). Samantha is a little girl with new roller skates. She’s eager to try them out, but her mom is too busy to help. Unable to wait, Samantha puts them on by herself and wobbles from one stationary object to another. Then she navigates the hallway. Feeling like she’s got the hang of it, Samantha sneaks out to skate on the sidewalk in front of the house. She happily skates a bit and then admires the view of town from top of a hill- not realizing how close she is to the slope. Suddenly finds herself rolling downhill, and she doesn’t know how to stop! She zooms through town, crashing through many different people’s activities (including a wedding) until a fortunate incident returns her home again- where she’s able to run inside, take off the skates and sit down with a book just before her mom comes in the room. Phew!
Lively, cute and fun. And this might seem a picky thing, but I appreciated that in all the scenes, Samantha’s poses look like what you actually do on roller skates. Unlike this book– where on the cover and in some interior pages, the illustrations look more like poses you take running or walking, rather than skating. And I keep thinking of that because I remember from being at the rink, seeing the kids who make walking stride motions with their legs, and don’t get anywhere- it’s a different motion- you have to step ahead, push out and glide. Eh, I think I’m a bit obsessed with this notion.
Borrowed from the public library.