Recess. A swing set. An argument. A resolution! Michael Hall’s transformative Swing is a celebration of friendship, joy, and kindness. Readers of all ages will look forward to seeing how four unlikely friends navigate their differences. A surprising and standout picture book from the acclaimed and bestselling creator of Red: A Crayon’s Story and Perfect Square.
It’s recess! Four letters (O, V, E, and L) race to the playground to claim the swings. In several pages of recess banter and bullying, one letter is told it’s too round, one is from the wrong end of the alphabet, and one is a vowel and therefore not welcome.
What does it take to save the day? Kindness . . . and a heavenly and joyful swing. And what do the letters—friends now because of their shared experience—spell when they finally come back to Earth? LOVE.
A story about sharing, acceptance, and kindness, this transcendent and colorful picture book will keep readers guessing while also introducing the letters of the alphabet. Swing is for anyone who loves to hop on a swing and fly to the sky.
- Books
- Kids Fiction
- Swing
Swing
FeaturedAuthor(s)
Publisher
Genre(s)
Age Range
4+
Release Date
May 19, 2020
ISBN
978-0062866172
Editor reviews
1 reviews
cute picture book classifying the alphabet
Overall rating
3.0
Plot/Characters/Writing Style
3.0
Illustrations/Photos (if applicable)
3.0
SWING is the story of four letters who all would like to play on the swings. When the first letter (L) is approached by the second letter (V), they do not want to let them join, because they are from the middle whereas the second is from the far end. When the third letter (E) asks to join, the first two do not want them to join, because E is a vowel and therefore different. When the fourth letter (O) comes, the first three do not want them to swing, as O is round and they are made of straight lines. The fourth letter convinces them all to swing (after some more tussles), and when they do, they are all happy (and spell LOVE).
What I loved: The colors and ideas here are very cute. The story is relatively simple, and the colors are really bright. Children can relate to playing on the playground and approaching new potential friends, who may be different than they are. There are also some interesting new ways to classify the alphabet presented herein, which may spark some creativity.
What left me wanting more: A big thing that is missing is the resolution of the fighting (they eventually just all swing and are happy), but they were pretty rude to each other in the process with excluding based on differences. Reading between the lines, you can see that the four make something special together (LOVE), but this is never stated and their arguing not resolved- just ultimately ignored.
They are also all referred to as the first/second/third/fourth letter, which is not always easy to say aloud and also difficult to remember which one is which. The sequential ordering could be helpful in terms of a learning point, but the order is not so obvious, so it can be confusing at times.
Final verdict: Overall, this is a cute and simple picture book that presents new ways to look at the alphabet and can spark some discussions about welcoming others who may seem different than you.
What I loved: The colors and ideas here are very cute. The story is relatively simple, and the colors are really bright. Children can relate to playing on the playground and approaching new potential friends, who may be different than they are. There are also some interesting new ways to classify the alphabet presented herein, which may spark some creativity.
What left me wanting more: A big thing that is missing is the resolution of the fighting (they eventually just all swing and are happy), but they were pretty rude to each other in the process with excluding based on differences. Reading between the lines, you can see that the four make something special together (LOVE), but this is never stated and their arguing not resolved- just ultimately ignored.
They are also all referred to as the first/second/third/fourth letter, which is not always easy to say aloud and also difficult to remember which one is which. The sequential ordering could be helpful in terms of a learning point, but the order is not so obvious, so it can be confusing at times.
Final verdict: Overall, this is a cute and simple picture book that presents new ways to look at the alphabet and can spark some discussions about welcoming others who may seem different than you.
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