Welcome to Perfect Picture Book Friday, Everyone!
Today is the day I would usually be starting the Halloweensie Contest, and I am so sad to be missing it this year!
I will not be posting for the next couple weeks – no Tuesday Debuts or Perfect Picture Book Fridays were scheduled because I originally thought I’d be running Halloweensie, and now I need the extra time for the reasons I’m skipping the contests.
But I wanted to post something today – a terrific book I happened upon last weekend that was written by my table neighbor at the inaugural Marlboro 1000 Book Festival and it is very appropriate heading into this weekend when the New York City Marathon will be running. Having attended (not run!) the NYC Marathon many times, I love how this book captures the spirit of the day and so many of the fun details.
Are you ready? 😊 🏃♀️
Title: Ready, Set, Run! The Amazing New York City Marathon
Written By: Leslie Kimmelman
Illustrated By: Jessie Hartland
ISBN#: 978-0593433652
Publisher: Random House Studio, August 1, 2023, nonfiction
Suitable For Ages: 4-8
Themes/Topics: marathon running
text copyright Leslie Kimmelman 2023, illustration copyright Jessie Hartland 2023, Random House Studio
Opening:
“All over the world –
on city roads
and country lanes,
on beaches,
high in the mountains,
across fields
and through forests,
in sun, in rain, and late at night –
people get ready to race.
It’s a BIG DEAL to run in the New York City Marathon.”
text copyright Leslie Kimmelman 2023, illustration copyright Jessie Hartland 2023, Random House Studio
Brief Synopsis: [from the publisher] “In this energetic and ever-so-fun nonfiction picture book about the world’s most famous race, readers follow runners from all over the world as they stretch, make their playlist, eat a spaghetti dinner, and then pound, pound, pound through the five boroughs of New York City, all the way to the finish line.”
text copyright Leslie Kimmelman 2023, illustration copyright Jessie Hartland 2023, Random House Studio
Links To Resources: if you live in New York, get outside and watch the marathon go by! If you can’t attend in person, the race is televised so you can see it that way – not quite the same but still fun. The book itself is filled with fun facts, including a map of the route, and has an author’s note and selected sources at the back.
text copyright Leslie Kimmelman 2023, illustration copyright Jessie Hartland 2023, Random House Studio
Why I Like This Book: If you’ve ever been in New York City on Marathon Day, you will instantly see how perfectly this book captures the festive mood, the pre-race butterflies, the excitement, the rhythm, and the many uniquely New York City details of this world-famous race. If you haven’t ever been there, this book will show you how it feels. Written at a very accessible kid level, the book introduces young readers to the world of marathon running, showing how runners prepare, warm-up, and race, how the crowds line the streets of the five boroughs, how spectators cheer on the tiring runners, how volunteers hand out water, sports drinks, bananas, orange segments and pretzels to help fuel them, and, one of my favorite details, the kinds of signs people hold up for the runners (some of which are very funny! 😊) Another of my favorite things about the book is a gatefold spread that opens up to 4 pages wide showing all the runners breaking from the start, and the text along the bottom says “poundpoundpoundpoundpound” all the way from one side to the other. (It’s pictured above – so wide that the text isn’t too readable, but that’s what it says along the bottom.) There are also fun facts on every page – things such as the youngest person ever to complete the marathon was 8 years old and did it in just over 3 hours, and since 1979 a high school band stationed at Mile 9 plays the Rocky theme song over and over and over again until the last runner has gone by, and lots of others. Informative and very entertaining with lots of details to absorb from the vibrant art, you don’t have to be a runner to enjoy this book!
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 😊 For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.
PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific blog links (and any other info you feel like filling out 😊) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone! 😊 And I’ll see you for our next Tuesday Debut on November 17th! Happy Halloween! 🎃
