The Sky Is the Limit

January 20, 2020
Swerling and Lazar collaborate once again on this diminutive, glittery book that cheers readers on through small accomplishments and major milestones alike. “A world full of wonder/ is waiting for you...// The sky is the limit/ of what you can do!” begins Swerling, taking readers through a list of activities in rhyming verse (“Backs to be scratched/... plans to be hatched”). Lazar’s stick figure illustrations, accented in neon and scrawled with a range of expression, bring movement and energy to one-dimensional spreads of all-white characters. The book runs several beats too long, resulting in an exhaustive litany of peppy suggestions that meander from the vague (“There are roads to be traveled// and dreams to unfold”) to the specific (“Cakes to be gobbled/ and spoons to be licked”) and sometimes puzzling (“friends to be tricked”). All ages.

January 15, 2020
A simple exhortation to young children to do all things. Through this rhythmic narrative, young readers will be tantalized by the activities that are within their reach. Typical suburban, middle-class childhood activities are portrayed, such as riding bikes, swimming in lakes, and playing in treehouses. Additionally, messages about citizenship in action, like mending fences and volunteering for causes, provide children with ideas of how to contribute to the world they live in; themes of working together and imagination are present throughout. There is so much to do and so much yet to come: "Lessons to learn / and books to be read... / each holding a glimpse / of what lies ahead." Bright and clean-cut cartoons dominated by sunny yellow, blue, and green will infuse readers with feelings of happiness and simplicity. While the rhythmic list depicts a great variety of activities, however, characters are all white as paper, with little to no diversity implied beyond gender presentation cued by stereotypical dress and hairstyle. Both the upbeat celebration of possibility and a spread of characters in graduation gowns place this book as a conceptual companion to Oh, the Places You'll Go! However, with its avoidance of diversity, it feels very much out of step with the times. An uplifting book about unlimited potential that's, sadly, pretty limited. (Picture book. 4-6)

COPYRIGHT(2020) Kirkus Reviews, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.