SOMETIMES YOU FLY by Katherine Applegate. Illus. by Jennifer Black Reinhardt.  Boston:  Clarion Books, 2018.  ISBN 978-0547633909 hc. $17.99    Gr. K-2    E PIC

Applegate takes readers on a journey from their first birthday all the way to graduation with three-word teasers.  The phrase, "before the friend..." is accompanied by a picture of one boy sitting alone which turns into a picture of good friends as you turn the page.  A young girl struggling with words in a book "before the know..." turns into an avid reader telling stories to her stuffed animals at bedtime.  The phrasing changes toward the end of the book with words of encouragement that there are failures on the road to success.  Parents will like this book as much as their children do.  Much of the appeal is in the illustrations which echo the work of Stephen Gammell, a Caldecott winner who illustrated SONG AND DANCE MAN by Karen Ackerman (1988) and THE RELATIVES CAME by Cynthis Rylant (1985).
Lynette Suckow, Superiorland Preview Center, Marquette, MI