Tag Archives: Cities

Elem. – Our Pool

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Cummins, Lucy Ruth. Our Pool. Atheneum Books for Young Children, 2023. 978-1-534-49923-2. $18.99. 48 p. Grades K-2.

A city community pool is the focus of this refreshingly cool book. The unseen child narrator describes each step in the process of getting ready for a swim – the locker room, putting on sunscreen, playing in the pool, losing sight of Mom for a moment, worrying that a rain cloud will end the fun early, being cuddled in a warm towel, a visit to the ice cream truck, and heading home exhausted and happy. The glory of this book is that every reader can see themselves in it. Each illustration depicts adults and children of all races, ages, body-types, and family configurations without ever revealing which of these categories the narrator identifies with. A stunning tribute to the joy of a community pool on a hot summer day.

THOUGHTS: This is a beautifully illustrated book that is absolutely pitch perfect. The gouache, colored pencil, and digitally finished artwork is simple yet stunning in its ability to convey inclusivity. The narrative is joyous and full of kid fun. Highly recommended for all children’s library collections.

Picture Book 

Elem. – Rou and the Great Race

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Fong, Pam. Rou and the Great Race. Reycraft Books, 2020. $17.95. 978-1-478-86952-8. Unpaged. Grades K-2. 

Rou and her grandma walk the streets of their brown and gray city, surrounded by tall buildings, metal trees, and passersby with robot pets. Grandma remembers a time when the city was alive and flowers beautified the gray surroundings but with growth came Power People who collected all the flowers for themselves. Now, children compete for a single flower in the annual Great Race. Rou is determined to win the flower for her grandma, but when she comes in last all she finds is a sad little stem with petals strewn about. Rou collects the stem, takes it home, and nurtures it into an entire garden which she shares annually at the Great Share. Fong uses colors to show the stark contrast between lively Rou, always clad in red like the flowers she grows, and the depressing brown city. Children will take away a story of kindness, both the lack of it from the Power People and the abundance shown by Rou and Grandma as they give away their flowers. Adult readers will see a more cautionary tale about power, city development, and greed mixed with Rou’s kindness.

THOUGHTS: An unusual but likeable story; readers will root for Rou.

Picture book                    Lindsey Long, Lower Dauphin SD