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Who doesn’t remember that epic struggle (for most kids) to learn how to swing? Rocking forward and backward. Going nowhere.
In TOUCH THE SKY, readers get to go along for the ride as Vern heads to the park for another day at the playground, complete with wood chips.
Notice the attention to verbs and the senses in the narrative above. Vern flings himself stomach-first onto the swing. He drags his fingers through the wood chips. And he “spunspunspunspunspun” on the swing until his stomach told him to stop. Immediately.
We are in Verns world, feeling his bodily sensations.
There’s only one problem. Vern can’t swing. He longs to touch the sky with his toes like the other kids. But he can’t. Notice how the narrative seamlessly transitions from 3rd point of view to close 3rd when we get to “One of the kids who could soar so high the chains had to yank them back before they took flight with the birds.”
And then back into 3rd. “But Vern didn’t know how to pump.”
Above, we get to see a bit of Vern’s initial frustration. And the fact that kids, once they learn, say “It’s so easy.” Like many many many things—it’s easy only once you’ve done it.
Enter Gretchen, a child who Vern “knows” because her mother says her name whenever she’s telling her to do or NOT do things—like stop licking her scabs. (We learn so much about Gretchen in three “dos and don’ts.”) But we also discover that Gretchen is a generous and patient child. She not only encourages Vern, she goes through all of the steps. And then Vern tries. And tries. And tries. Vern tries for four entire spreads, with Gretchen’s encouragement, until Gretchen has to leave.
And then he sits on the swing, considers giving up, because Gretchen would never know he GAVE UP! Cue the dark night of the soul.
Well, this is a picture book, so, yes, Vern tries again and works himself up to a point where he sees himself taking flight with the birds. Chris Park’s illustrations magnificently depict the frustration and then movement and thrill of the ride.
But does the book end with Vern’s success? No. A younger kid sits in the swing that Gretchen had occupied, his head sadly drooping in his lap because he doesn’t know how to swing.
So Vern says, “It feels hard until you get it, and then it’s not…Do you want to learn how?”
Go ahead. Let your heart soar.
Activities:
Check out this video on learning how to swing with Spotty Dotty.
Write a poem about what swinging feels like. Use active verbs and sensory details that involve your hands, eyes, legs, how the swing’s chain feels in your hands, what the sky looks like, etc.
Teaching a process: Think of things you’ve learned how to do, like riding a bike, making cookies, or something else you’d like to teach someone to do. Think about what it was like when you first learned to do this thing, and write down each step in the process. Read through the steps to make sure they’re in the right order. Rearrange the steps, if needed. Add or change the steps, if you find that something is missing or confusing. Make a video (using a smart phone) of yourself teaching the steps. Show it to a friend or classmate, so they can learn how to do it, too.
Title: Touch the Sky
Author: Stephanie Lucianovic
Illustrator: Chris Park
Publisher: Lerner, 2024
Themes: persistence, learning how to swing, sharing knowledge
Ages: Pre-K through early elementary school
For more perfect picture book recommendations, please visit Susanna Hill’s website.