Ready, Set, Run!
The Amazing New York City Marathon
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- $11.99
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- $11.99
Publisher Description
A lively nonfiction picture book about runners preparing for, and racing in, the New York City Marathon, perfect for fans of Balloons Over Broadway and The Philharmonic Gets Dressed.
All over the world—on city roads and country lanes, on beaches, high in the mountains, across fields, in sun, rain, and late at night, people get ready to race. It’s a BIG DEAL to run in the New York City Marathon!
In this energetic and ever-so-fun nonfiction picture book about the world's most famous race, readers follow runners from all over the world as they stretch, make their playlist, eat a spaghetti dinner, and then pound, pound, pound through the five boroughs of New York City, all the way to the finish line.
With fun facts throughout ("Since 1979, a high school band stationed at Mile 9 plays the “Rocky” theme song again and again until the last runners go by"), this is an exhilarating, inside-view of what it entails to run the world's largest marathon.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
"It's a BIG DEAL to run in the New York City Marathon," but conversational prose by Kimmelman (The Eight Knights of Hanukkah) and naïf-style gouache vignettes from Hartland (Alice Waters Cooks Up a Food Revolution) make this world-famous sporting event feel relatable to young readers—from training and race-eve prep ("Some eat big spaghetti dinners") to the moment when an exhausted but happy runner falls asleep still holding a participant's medal ("What a city! What a day!"). Callouts labeled "EXTRA!" throughout add facts, but the focus—including a wonderful gatefold of the race's start ("poundpoundpoundpoundpound")—stays mostly on the stampede of runners of varying abilities, ages, body types, and skin tones. Spreads that align with the real event's lively spirit overview the race's route while spotlighting participants moving fast and slow, in costume and not, for good causes and to settle a rivalry ("Who's faster, police officers or firefighters?"). As all of New York gets caught up in the excitement—with onlookers waving cheeky signs ("You are NOT almost there") and shouting "Keepgoingkeepgoingkeepgoingkeepgoingkeepgoing!"—readers are likely to break into a cheer as well. Ages 4–8. Author's agent: Amy Stern, Sheldon Fogelman Agency. Illustrator's agent: Brenda Bowen, Book Group.
