Sometimes You Fly
By Regan McMahon,
Common Sense Media Reviewer
Common Sense Media Reviewers
Joyous celebration of the trial and error of growing up.
A Lot or a Little?
What you will—and won't—find in this book.
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What's the Story?
The messy hard work of childhood (and parenthood) is on full display in SOMETIMES YOU FLY. Kids are pictured at various stages, from infancy through graduation, achieving milestones including eating the first solid food, learning to swim, growing tall enough to ride the roller coaster, making friends, learning to hit a baseball, learning to drive, first love, the grief of burying a pet, earning a diploma in cap and gown.
Is It Any Good?
This capsule view of growing up uses irresistible art and spare rhythmic text to convey a message to keep trying and learn from your mistakes and disappointments. Young readers will enjoy the funny kids and familiar situations portrayed -- such as a boy stubbornly refusing to get in the wading pool on one page but ready to dive in the ocean waves on the next, or a girl struggling to hit a baseball on one page then leaping for joy at making the softball team on the next. But Sometimes You Fly may also have appeal as a graduation gift, like Dr. Seuss' Oh, the Places You'll Go! It's delightful whether the reader is looking forward or back.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the situations in Sometimes You Fly. Are there any you remember going through? Any you are looking forward to?
Why do you think the author compares growing up to baking a cake? Does that idea make sense to you? What ingredients make up your life so far?
What are your favorite pictures in Sometimes You Fly? Are any of the mistakes ones you have made? What's the funniest picture? Which is the saddest? What did the artist do to make the kid look sad?
Book Details
- Author: Katherine Applegate
- Illustrator: Jennifer Black Reinhardt
- Genre: Picture Book
- Topics: Brothers and Sisters, Cats, Dogs, and Mice, Friendship, Great Boy Role Models, Great Girl Role Models
- Book type: Fiction
- Publisher: Clarion Books
- Publication date: April 3, 2018
- Number of pages: 40
- Available on: Hardback, iBooks, Kindle
- Last updated: April 11, 2018
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