Kick Push, by Frank Morrison, (Apr. 2022, Bloomsbury USA), $18.99, ISBN: 9781547605927
Ages 3-7
Ivan – better known as Epic – is a skateboard king: “He’s been grinding the streets with moves to big, his friends call him EPIC”. He’s just moved to a new town, and he doesn’t know anyone, and trying out new tricks without anyone to cheer you on is no fun. Epic tries out some other sports, trying to fit in and find his new crew, but it’s just no good. Luckily, his dad is there to give him the best advice: stay true to yourself, and be EPIC. Sure enough, Epic gets back on his skateboard and discovers that the self-confidence that comes from doing what you love and being yourself is the best introduction of all. this is Frank Morrison’s first time out as author-illustrator; you may have seen his work on books like I Got the Rhythm and I Got the School Spirit, both by Connie Schofield-Morrison, or the award-winning Little Melba and her Big Trombone by Katheryn Russell-Brown. His illustration work and his storytelling pulse with life, giving an urban beat to the story. Epic is a brown-skinned boy with natural hair and flies through the air on his skateboard, soaring past a vibrant urban inner city landscape. He speeds by ice cream trucks and graffiti-adorned buildings; bright orange construction cones mark sidewalks under construction; kids play with super soaker water guns in a park; a hip-hop dance troupe runs through their moves in a studio; a kid gets a high-top fade at the local barber shop. Kick Push embraces authenticity, community, and pride.
Frank Morrison is an award-winning illustrator. He received a Coretta Scott King Illustrator Award for RESPECT: Aretha Franklin, the Queen of Soul, an NAACP Image Award for Our Children Can Soar, and a Coretta Scott King/John Steptoe New Talent Award for Jazzy Miz Mozetta.
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