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Reviewed by: Emily McFarlane, Elementary School Librarian Title: Skating Wild on an Inland Sea
Author: Jean E. Pendziwol Illustrator: Todd Stewart
Publisher: Groundwood Books
Year: 2023 Good for Grades: K-3 Genre/Type of Book: Picture Book
Content Warnings, or things that other School Librarians should be aware of: None Recommended for a school library: Yes Reason(s) for choosing the book: Received in a JLG subscription box
If you were tasked by the publisher with writing a short quote for the back cover of this book, what would it be:
Lake Superior's song weaves a winter spell in this book.
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Review:
This is a simple story told in sparse colors about a brother and sister skating on Lake Superior. It is written in a poetry-like format that encourages the reader to focus on the language being used. The Illustrations themselves are both simple an detailed, with lots of organic lines detailing the winter forest surrounding both characters, juxtaposed with the open expanse of ice that is the lake. The compositions themselves are the simple part, while the detail that makes them up draws the eye all around the page. The theme is the "song" of Lake Superior, which is carried throughout the text via figurative language.
Overall, I could see this book being a great vehicle for lessons on figurative language, how color can contribute to the tone of the story, personification, Lake Superior, winter, free-form poetry, and more. I would recommend this more as a read-aloud story than a story kids might reach for, but the pictures provide a lot of texture that kids may find interesting to look at. The title is written in cursive as if the children have skated the words, which might be hard for younger students to read. It is the kind of book that feels like a winter day: hushed, cold, full of mystery and just a hint of wonder. If a teacher asked for a series of winter texts, I would be inclined to include it for a change of perspective.
Our second grade teachers do a unit on "small-moment" stories where you have to catch the reader's attention while being very detailed about a small moment in your life. This book would make a wonderful "small-moment" example, because it is a string of small moments that the reader can identify with. Eating oatmeal with your sibling, walking together, helping each other, going ice skating, etc. This book would be a great example of how you can write small moment stories in different ways.
Number of party hats:
For more information about this book, see the Publishers Website