Jabari Jumps

Reviewed by: Phyllis Fuchs - Curtis Memorial Library, Brunswick, Southern Maine Library District

Review Date: February 13, 2018

Review

This story of a small boy eager to do a first jump from a diving board, who feels just a bit of hesitation, holds young listeners' complete attention, most seeming to identify with him immediately. Each of Jabari's movements is fully illustrated, page by page, in a book as large in size as Jabari's ambition. The author's drawings, done in pencil, watercolor and collage, then colored digitally, offer all the details; how high the ladder appears, all that Jabari can see as he stands at the very edge of the diving board including a remarkably presented city's skyline and his father and small sister watching him from below. Displayed too, again page by single page, are his splash, his going down, down, down and his smiling face as he comes back up. This debut picture book is a solid winner for preschoolers and many of the rest of us too.

Overall Book Score: excellent