Jump In!

by Shadra Strickland (Author)

Jump In!
Reading Level: 2nd − 3rd Grade

This bright, joyful picture book celebrates a community at play!

It's a sunny spring day, and the tic tac tic tac sound of jump ropes hitting the ground floats through the wind.

"Jump in!"

Everyone lines up for a turn. The Delancy twins, double dutch divas. Leroy Jones with the hip-hop tricks. Even Ms. Mabel, showing the youngstas how it's done. And after a day of fun, when the street lights start to flicker, it's time to . . . jump out!

With a bold graphic style, read-aloud enhancing gatefolds, and an exuberance that leaps off the page, acclaimed artist Shadra Strickland's author/illustrator debut will make readers of all ages get up on their feet!

Select format:
Hardcover
$18.99

Kirkus Reviews

Starred Review
A moving, grooving snapshot of urban life where kids create the fun and beckon everybody in.

Booklist

The innocence and joy of playground games burst from the pages of this celebration of neighborhood community, self-expression, and Double Dutch. . . .This exuberant read-aloud will get kids jumping.

Horn Book Magazine

Brimming with energy, the colorful textured digital paintings enhance the rhyming text. Strickland captures the sheer joy found in community play.

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

Vibrantly rendered and warmly welcoming, this solo debut from Strickland (Loving vs. Virginia) portrays a lively metropolitan community engaging in a lengthy game of double Dutch. On a warm day shown in textural digital art that's full of light and movement, a group of children with various skin tones gathers on a neighborhood blacktop: "Two becomes four. Four more is eight./ Rock back-and-forth. Don't hesitate." As a reiterative "Jump in!" invites the next person in, fittingly metered, rhyming text describes each participant's jumping style. A joyful bird's-eye view captures the wide smiles of "double dutch divas" the Delancy twins. A page turn later, Leroy Jones sinks a basketball from mid-court before showing off hip-hop moves, flames emanating from sneakers. Soon, "Hold up! Is that Ms. Mable jumpin' in?" sees the elder tossing her purse ("I could teach you a few things about jumpin' in!"), and entering the rhythmic game with a "funky wiggle" that proves long-lived. There's no resisting the ropes' pitter-patter, and as the day stretches out, the ever-changing game invites more people in. It's a celebration of intergenerational community and play whose turns spotlight the strengths of both individuals and an inclusive, supportive, tight-knit community. Ages 4-8. Agent: Lori Nowicki, Painted Words. (Jan.)

Copyright 2022 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes



Shadra Strickland

Shadra Strickland grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, with her mom and grandma and spent almost every day after school playing out in the sunshine! When she wasn't playing she was drawing and writing stories. After Shadra grew up she moved to New York to become an artist. Now she teaches other people how to draw and tell stories at the Maryland Institute College of Art. When she's not teaching, she enjoys playing with her dog, Lucky--who looks awfully like the dog in this book. She also travels around the world meeting new friends and inspiring them to share their own stories. Though Shadra has illustrated many stories for other people, this is the first time she has written and illustrated her own.

www.jumpin.shadrastrickland.com
@Shadrieka

Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781619635807
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Publication date
January 20, 2023
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV051000 - Juvenile Fiction | Imagination & Play
JUV011010 - Juvenile Fiction | People & Places | United States - African-American
JUV023000 - Juvenile Fiction | Lifestyles | City & Town Life
Library of Congress categories
Fiction
African Americans
Stories in rhyme
Double dutch (Rope skipping)

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