Kick Push: Be Your Epic Self
by Frank Morrison; illus. by the author
Primary    Bloomsbury    40 pp.    g
4/22    978-1-5476-0592-7    $18.99
e-book ed.  978-1-5476-0593-4    $13.29

How can a budding skateboard pro navigate being in a new place and leaving his posse behind? Ivan, a brown-skinned, big-afro-wearing skateboarder, has “moves so big, his friends call him EPIC.” But without an audience, what good are amazing moves? He tries playing football, soccer, and basketball to fit in, but these are not his jam; Epic fails miserably at each of them. His dad advises him to be as tenacious about finding new buddies as he is about acquiring new moves—and eventually he does make friends. ­Morrison (CSK Illustrator Award winner for R-E-S-P-E-C-T, rev. 7/20) immerses readers in a vibrant urban neighborhood through a diverse group of inhabitants, busy street scenes, and expansive graffiti on some walls; he appeals to skateboarding fans by mentioning such “gnarly tricks” as the “backside flip kick push flaky” and the “50-50 grind.” The illustrations’ dynamic perspectives—­including a view from above the street on which Epic skates and another from underneath his board—along with frequent swoosh lines, emphasize the character’s perpetual motion. Elliott and Denmon’s A Place Inside of Me (rev. 11/20), a Caldecott Honor book about another dedicated skateboarder, would make an excellent companion read. A lively story that encourages kids to use their strengths and talents to find community.

From the March/April 2022 issue of The Horn Book Magazine.