A child who yearns to take up skateboarding feels "a part of something" when they learn how to ride in Julie Flett's Let's Go!, which joyously celebrates the sport and its community. The tentative child watches from the window as skateboarders fly down the sidewalk: "Cacussh!" At the park, the kid's imagination goes into overdrive while pretending to skate. When the child's mother shares the board she skated on as a kid, the eager athlete diligently practices. Despite all the practice, the child continues to merely watch at the skateboard park--until new friends bolster the boarder's confidence enough that they all eventually "skate down the street, like a little river, together."
Flett (We All Play) imbues this story with a satisfying kineticism, coupling the refrain "haw ȇkwa! Let's go!" with not only the child's eagerness to learn but also the vigor of the skaters they see. Cree-Métis Flett (who explains in the book's backmatter that "haw ȇkwa!" is a Cree idiom that captures the "creative urgency" of skating) depicts the experienced skaters surrounded by highly textured waves of action, capturing their symphony of movements. The pastel, pencil, and digital illustrations have a subdued palette, but pops of crimson, lavender, green, and sunny yellows accentuate the pages. A closing note addressed to readers explains how the skating her own son did inspired Flett's dynamic and energetic tale. --Julie Danielson, reviewer