Children's author Valerie Bolling burst onto the scene in 2020 with her debut picture book, Let's Dance!, using joyful rhythm and rhyme to celebrate dance and diversity around the world. Her new picture book, Ride, Roll, Run: Time for Fun! is another joyful ode to childhood, this time celebrating community and friendship. And...as you can tell from the title...it's full of movement!
The book begins just as a school day ends, and a diverse group of students make their way into the neighborhood for a fun afternoon. They play on skateboards, bikes, and jungle gyms. They make music and dance, play double dutch, and shoot hoops. They partake in nearly every activity you might imagine children would enjoy outside in the streets!
The beautiful digital art by Sabrena Kadija adds a retro flair to the book. Maybe it's the color palette, or the big-rimmed glasses some of the children are wearing, but the art combined with the concept of the book transports me back to my own childhood....to my own memories of playing outside with my brothers or other neighborhood kids for hours on end after school or on the weekends.
Perhaps I am in a nostalgic mood, but reading this picture book also brings back memories of the many hours I spent watching Sesame Street as a child. The diversity, the childhood innocence, and all that neighborly love!
Sesame Street holds a very special place in my heart, and now Ride, Roll, Run: Time for Fun! does, too!
So...I know I said "no tricks from me" at the beginning of this post, but I may have misspoke. I do have one little trick...I'll give you an extra entry in the giveaway if you answer this question in the comments: Which movement from the title of the book do you prefer? Riding? Rolling? Running?
Thanks for reading all the way through!
