Jump In!

by Shadra Strickland

Overview

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!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781619635807
Publisher:	Bloomsbury USA
Publication date:	01/31/2023
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	784,675
Product dimensions:	8.40(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

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

Editorial Reviews

★ 11/28/2022

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.)

Publishers Weekly

A celebration of intergenerational community and play whose turns spotlight the strengths of both individuals and an inclusive, supportive, tight-knit community.” —Publishers Weekly, starred review

“A moving, grooving snapshot of urban life where kids create the fun and beckon everybody in.” —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

“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.” —Booklist

“Brimming with energy, the colorful textured digital paintings enhance the rhyming text. Strickland captures the sheer joy found in community play.” —The Horn Book

From the Publisher

★ 2022-11-16
A high-energy ode to double Dutch and summer days of fun.

It’s a sizzling morning, and when one freckle-faced, curly-haired, tan-skinned kid yells, “Jump in!” kids of every hue and size come running with balls, with jump-ropes, and with arms and legs ready for moving. When the “Double Dutch divas,” the Delancy twins, arrive to jump-rope, their long cornrows go flying as they “Jump over, jump under” and “spin ’round.” Next, long-legged basketballer Leroy Jones, with a frohawk and fiery moves, twirls a ball on one finger then jumps in with hip-hop acrobatics…until hip-swinging Ms. Mabel tosses Leroy her purse and exhausts the jump-rope turners with her “funky wiggle” and her cartwheel in the ropes. Lots of neighbors, including the reverend, join in, and the jumping joy permeates the day as Strickland’s free-verse poetry turns this tale into a singable jump-rope rhyme. When a skateboard-loving youngster finally joins in after homework’s all done, the child takes their dog and board into the ropes. Strickland’s innovative low-angle and bird’s-eye views and gatefolds that open in various directions give readers expansive vantage points for this day of participatory play, while her colorful and highly textured digitally rendered illustrations, inspired by the Italian futurists, effectively capture the heat, verve, and energy of the city. This city community is a diverse one; most of the named characters present as Black.

A moving, grooving snapshot of urban life where kids create the fun and beckon everybody in. (Picture book. 3-7)

Kirkus Reviews