TOUCH THE SKY

How far can YOU go?

Vern loves the playground swings, but he usually sits, letting the chains twist and spin him around, or lies stomach-first on the seat. He can’t soar like the other kids. When other children taunt him, he contorts his body in vain, ordering his legs to pump. Then a girl named Gretchen asks if he wants to learn. He painstakingly follows her instructions, and she stays with Vern, not letting him quit, until she finally must leave. Though tempted to give up, Vern persists—and then…he PUMPS, touches the sky, and joins the birds! Earthbound again, Vern hears a small boy wistfully tell him he wishes he could pump. Guess who’s the expert now? Aiming skyward on a swing is, of course, a metaphor for attempting to reach any goal; the reassuring message in this dynamic, fast-paced tale: Don’t quit, keep trying, and you’ll succeed. Throughout, Lucianovic demonstrates a keen, child-friendly understanding of what it’s like to master a new skill: “It feels hard until you get it, and then it’s not.” The energetic, loosely drawn mixed-media illustrations zing with color. Amid all this fun, characters’ hair and skin shades are fancifully depicted, though hair textures suggest that some characters might be people of color. Creative typesetting wizardry, with words and action lines “swinging” everywhere, emphasize the action. Swing by the zesty endpapers.

It’s swing, hit, and no miss with this rip-roaring charmer.