A Day for Skating

In a sweet rhyming tale, a young child’s first skating adventure on a frozen pond ends with a cozy bedtime story.

Tap and step,
then slide and turn.
Whoops! Fall down.
That’s how we learn.

On a brisk winter’s day, the frozen pond is crisscrossed by figure skaters, hockey players, new skaters, and old pros, all gliding across the ice. It’s time to bundle up, lace your skates, and give it a try — then head inside for cocoa and snacks when your cheeks grow rosy and your toes are cold. Back at home, warm bedtime rituals make for the end of a perfect day. But when darkness falls at the pond, who will come out to skate?

“The cadence and presentation of this story are ideally suited to bedtime reading. Short, rhyming phrases pair beautifully with the artwork...Readers of all ages will enjoy the quiet calm that descends upon them while sharing this story as they, too, wind down from a day of winter fun. --School Library Journal”

The cadence and presentation of this story are ideally suited to bedtime reading. Short, rhyming phrases pair beautifully with the artwork...Readers of all ages will enjoy the quiet calm that descends upon them while sharing this story as they, too, wind down from a day of winter fun.
—School Library Journal

Coziness is the name of the game in the pencil and watercolor illustrations, with lots of feathery snow, fuzzy knits, and soft and friendly faces...this will entice the uncertain out onto the ice (or into the warming hut) and give viewers in warmer climes happily frosty daydreams.
—Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

Lovely drawings with simple details, done digitally and using watercolors and colored pencil, move the verse from a brisk, snow-covered day scene to the deeper purple hues of a winter dusk and a final, deeper blue when nighttime creatures enjoy the frozen pond...This winter sports portrayal is a fine and attractive addition to the season's preschool collection.
—Kirkus Reviews

Sarah Sullivan is the author of the picture books Dear Baby: Letters from Your Big Brother, illustrated by Paul Meisel, and Passing the Music Down, illustrated by Barry Root, as well as the novel All That’s Missing. Sarah Sullivan has an MFA in writing for children from Vermont College and lives in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Madeline Valentine is the author-illustrator of I Want That Nut and the illustrator of Little Red Henry by Linda Urban. She lives in Queens, New York, with her son and husband.

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