Jump for Joy

by Karen Gray Ruelle (Author) Hadley Hooper (Illustrator)

Reading Level: K − 1st Grade

Kid seeks dog. Dog seeks kid. In this charming and imaginative tale of friendship, picture book readers will delight in what it means to have a furry best friend.

For as long as she can remember, Joy has wanted a dog. It doesn’t matter what kind: big, little, spotted, curly. She wants one so fiercely, she makes dogs out of snow, seashells, or whatever’s at hand! However, none of the dogs Joy makes are quite what she yearns for. The seashell dog washes away, and the snow dog melts into a puddle. Little does Joy know that her perfect dog friend is just around the corner—wishing just as fiercely for a kid—and waiting to be discovered.

Award-winning artist Hadley Hooper creates a world that is both timeless and magical as she weaves ink, paint, and collages made from vintage etchings together in a style that perfectly complements the classic feel of Jump for Joy. Readers will rejoice in this satisfying kid-meets-dog story, and will savor returning to this world again and again.

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Kirkus

Ruelle packs in an impressive amount of clever wordplay in a relatively spare text. 

None

A sweetly told friendship story set against the changing seasons.

Publishers Weekly

Tightly structured storytelling by Ruelle (Peter's War) and crisp, editorial-style artwork by Hooper (The Elephants Come Home) frame this story about Joy, a girl, and Jump, a dog. Both figures search for companionship, inquiries that unfold in pleasing parallel. As Joy longs for a dog ("A big dog. A little dog. A spotted dog.... It didn't matter"), Jump longs for a kid ("A big kid. A little kid. A spotted kid.... It didn't matter"). Permission isn't the problem; instead, the two haven't yet found the right companions ("She'd know her dog when she saw him.... He'd know his kid when he saw her"). Each fills the void by building substitute friends--out of flowers and ferns in the spring, seashells and sand in the summer, sticks and mud in the fall, and snow in the winter--but natural forces destroy their constructions. The two are portrayed with antic energy in sepia, while their surroundings are rendered in b&w collages composed of antique etchings and illustrations. The story's energy is focused on the search, with rich visual interest created by busy patterns and images. Ages 3-7. (Jan.)

Copyright 2023 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

★ The parallel yearnings of two strangers—a girl and a dog—carry readers through Jump for Joy, beautifully conceived...and awe-strikingly illustrated...From the get-go, readers will know where Jump for Joy is headed—and that's the point: as with any love story (and that's what this book is), the pleasure resides in the thrill of the chase. Here, the thrill also resides in Hooper's outdoors-set collages, which incorporate found imagery dating as far back as the 18th century. —Shelf Awareness, starred review

★ The book utilizes white space and stark black-and-white illustrations to evoke Jump and Joy's loneliness; the characters are in a different illustration style, further emphasizing their isolation. Only when the pair find each other do their worlds fill with color. —Foreword Reviews, starred review

The repetitive rhythm of both Joy and Jump doing similar actions is reassuring, while Hooper's brilliant, mostly black-and-white collaged world highlights the sepia-toned friends as they navigate their way toward each other. Of course, when they finally cross paths, the world blooms into color. A wistful meditation on patience and discovery."—Kirkus Reviews

Ruelle's simple story uses repetition and alliteration to good effect. Hooper colors the child and dog in soft, warm browns using brush and ink. The delicate background collages are primarily black and white until the characters meet, and then everything transforms into color. —The Horn Book
Karen Gray Ruelle
Originally from Maryland, Karen Gray Ruelle is a children's book author and illustrator currently based in New York. Her numerous books include The Grand Mosque of Paris, co-created with Deborah Durland Desaix, which was an ALSC Notable Book and an Orbis Pictus Award Recommended Title, as well as The Crunchy, Munchy Christmas Tree and April Fool!

Hadley Hooper is an illustrator and painter whose work has been featured in The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, and the New York Times, where she was a weekly contributor to the Style section. She has illustrated several children's books, including The Elephants Come Home and The Iridescence of Birds. Visit hadleyhooper.com.
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9781662602023
Lexile Measure
430
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Astra Young Readers
Publication date
January 23, 2024
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV039060 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Friendship
JUV002190 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Pets
JUV002070 - Juvenile Fiction | Animals | Dogs
Library of Congress categories
Friendship
Dogs
Pets
Picture books

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