Samantha on a Roll by Linda Ashman, illustrations by Christine Davenier

Samantha wants to try out her new roller skates so badly!  But her mother is too busy to help her right now.  So what does a determined little girl do?  First, she quietly puts on the skates and skates up and down the hall for awhile.  Her mother doesn’t notice.  Then, she heads outside and skates on the sidewalk a bit.  Her mother doesn’t notice.  She’s doing fine on the skates, so she heads up Hawthorn Hill.  The view is great, but she doesn’t notice how close she is getting to the steep edge until she is already out of control.  Chaos and humor ensues as Samantha runs past all sorts of characters in her wild, zipping rush.

Ashman’s rhymes have a jaunty rhythm that set the pace nicely, from the wandering earlier part of the book to the grand ride at the end.  I also appreciated the Samantha’s mother is not negligent or ignoring her, just busy with other parts of the family and household.  This is a caring family with a girl who just can’t stop playing with her skates. 

Davenier’s art is fine lined and filled with pastels.  Her work has a pleasing roughness to it.  She captures motion convincingly in just a few lines; something that is very important in this book. 

This dynamic rollercoaster ride of a book will add some speed to your next story time or bedtime reading.  Appropriate for ages 3-5.

Reviewed from library copy.