Review: Sometimes You Fly by Katherine Applegate & Jennifer Black Reinhardt
Source: Hardcopy courtesy of Raincoast Books. Thank you!
Publication: April 3, 2018 by Clarion Books/Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Book Description:

From Newbery Medalist and bestselling author Katherine Applegate, a sweet book of encouragement, filled with humor and insight into the effort behind any meaningful accomplishment in life. A perfect gift for baby shower, birthday, or graduation.

This gorgeous gift book, equally perfect for preschool graduations or college commencements, baby showers or birthdays, is an inspirational tribute to the universal struggles and achievements of childhood. Beginning with a first birthday, the scenes travel through childhood triumphs and milestones, coming full circle to graduation. A magical blend of succinct text and beautiful watercolors renders each moment with tenderness and humor and encourages readers to “remember then, with every try, sometimes you fail . . . sometimes you fly.”

Before the cake…
before the peas…
before the laugh…
before the seas…

So begins the heartfelt, sweet and wonderfully illustrated picture book Sometimes You Fly by Newbery Medal winner Katherine Applegate (The One and Only Ivan), illustrated by Jennifer Black Reinhardt (Blue Ethel).

A starred review from Booklist (a snippet of which is also quoted on the book jacket) notes Sometimes You Fly as a ‘natural successor’ to the perennial graduation gift Oh, the Places You’ll Go! by Dr. Seuss. And yes, absolutely: given the hopeful, commemorative and forward-looking nature, Sometimes You Fly is a super new choice or alternative pick to the usual! With Katherine Applegate’s rhyming and rhythmic text reading as so genuine and natural, and Jennifer Black Reinhardt’s memorable artwork- which I fell in love with in Blue Ethel– Sometimes You Fly truly stand-outs and sings as an all-ages kind of celebratory read.

With each short line of text of ‘before’, full page illustrations (front and back) illustrate or highlight the before and after of a momentous occasion. For example, with ‘before the team…’ readers see a girl try multiple swings at bat, while the back side shows the young girl jumping up in excitement at having made a softball team. After numerous and varied ‘before’s’, the book gently shifts to take readers through some of the highs and lows of attempting new things, of making mistakes, of saying goodbyes, and softly stresses the importance of what we take and learn from our experiences. Applegate’s writing here, as in her children’s novels, is composed and reassuring, this lovely mix of gravitas mixed with lightness. Reinhardt’s illustrations are such a brilliant complement to Applegate’s text: the illustrations show such detail, such expressiveness and nuanced emotions, from moments of joy to catastrophe to everything in between.

Overall, Sometimes You Fly is a kindhearted, hopeful read with marvelous illustrations that will indeed make it an appealing (and rightfully so!) gift to celebrate graduations and other such occasions, but it’s also a lovely read in its own right that can be enjoyed quietly or aloud at anytime by any reader looking for a little assurance or hope.

I received a copy of this title courtesy of Raincoast Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and comments are my own.