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Molly Rides
"Molly was a skier. She skied the blues and blacks. She'd wake up early every day to lay down some fresh tracks." So begins "Molly Rides," a simple story of a young girl who takes on a new challenge and through patience and hard work discovers that she can have fun in the snow, regardless of what's on her feet. With lyrical rhyming meter, AASI Certified Snowboard Instructor Adam Ford spins a story that he's very familiar withlearning how to snowboardand through it emphasizes both the work of mastering a new skill and the pure joy of snow sports. Award-winning illustrator Brian Berley brings the engaging text to life with eye-popping illustrations of Molly and her dog Bacon that evoke the history of skiing with a thoroughly modern touch.
- GenresChildrens
42 pages, Hardcover
First published February 14, 2014
About the author
Adam B. Ford
19 books17 followersAdam was born and did stuff and went to school and graduated from college and did more stuff and one day started writing.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
November 19, 2015
ARC received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
I'm so glad I found this book ad although it's really short it's still a perfect story for the kids or basically anyone who likes to ski or snowboard.
I was really impressed by the illustrations, they are very detailed and for me they are almost a mix of 2 and 3D. Simply amazing but that's no wonder, since Brian Berley is an award-winning illustrator. For his first crack at a children's book, he's done a fine job.
Now, the story itself was really good but I wished for a different ending. I felt like the ending had a sharp cut. But combined with the authors addition of PSIA-AASI (Professional Ski Instructors of America & American Association of Snowboard Instructors) the story became ever more special and beautiful.
Overall, this is a wonderful read.
Reviewed on Amazon.
I'm so glad I found this book ad although it's really short it's still a perfect story for the kids or basically anyone who likes to ski or snowboard.
I was really impressed by the illustrations, they are very detailed and for me they are almost a mix of 2 and 3D. Simply amazing but that's no wonder, since Brian Berley is an award-winning illustrator. For his first crack at a children's book, he's done a fine job.
Now, the story itself was really good but I wished for a different ending. I felt like the ending had a sharp cut. But combined with the authors addition of PSIA-AASI (Professional Ski Instructors of America & American Association of Snowboard Instructors) the story became ever more special and beautiful.
Overall, this is a wonderful read.
Reviewed on Amazon.
February 25, 2016
Children’s books with rhymes
are winners for me almost every time.
This one is no exception, I have to say,
I really enjoyed reading it today!
It tells the story of Molly, a great skier, who
learns snowboarding is very different to do.
It shows the need to keep on practicing even when
you keep falling off, again and again.
With resilience and effort you’ll improve too
in this and anything you work at to do.
This book is really for skiers and boarders who love the snow
It has many terms that are used in these sports, you know.
Even so, I have to say that I enjoyed it and
Think children will like it if they get it in their hand
The graphics are colourful and you’ll find
depict snowy action scenes of every kind
So if you’ve a child who enjoys to board or ski
This could be the book they’d like to see!
Thanks to the author, publishers and NetGalley, too,
for letting me read an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
are winners for me almost every time.
This one is no exception, I have to say,
I really enjoyed reading it today!
It tells the story of Molly, a great skier, who
learns snowboarding is very different to do.
It shows the need to keep on practicing even when
you keep falling off, again and again.
With resilience and effort you’ll improve too
in this and anything you work at to do.
This book is really for skiers and boarders who love the snow
It has many terms that are used in these sports, you know.
Even so, I have to say that I enjoyed it and
Think children will like it if they get it in their hand
The graphics are colourful and you’ll find
depict snowy action scenes of every kind
So if you’ve a child who enjoys to board or ski
This could be the book they’d like to see!
Thanks to the author, publishers and NetGalley, too,
for letting me read an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.
Want to Read
April 17, 2021Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
November 28, 2015
Molly Rides is a short story. Unlike most short stories, though, it's written in stanzas and each page is illustrated. This short story tells the story of Molly who must learn to snowboard after breaking her ski one day. I received a free copy from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
The short story begins with Molly showcasing her skills as a skier. She's very confident and it's obvious she's been skiing for a very long time. The beginning did pull me in, but at times the pattern of the stanzas was a little off; this jerked me out of the reading experience.
The short story becomes interesting when she breaks her ski and subsequently learns to snowboard. having been the best at snowboarding, Molly is insecure when she has to start over completely with snowboarding. I enjoyed this part of the book. It shows Molly's resiliency and what can happen when you don't give up; when you continue to try.
The book ends with her deciding to ski again. She now knows how to master skiing and snowboarding. We aren't given much in the way of world-building or a resolution with the guy who fixed her ski. The story simply ends.
I had a few problems with this book.
First, the technique used. The beginning of this book is enjoyable because the stanzas are timed appropriately. As you go through the book, though, the pattern is off. For example:
Instead of the pattern being ABAB, it becomes ABB and ABAA.
Second, illustrations dominate each page, not the writing. So instead of focusing on the short story, you're focused on the picture. This is problematic to me because most children rely heavily on pictures to read; should a struggling reader read this book, I don't feel it would challenege them because each illustration gives away the story.
Finally, the book ends abruptly. We find Molly learning to embrace skiing and snowboarding, only to be cut off at the next page. I would've given this book 4 stars had it provided a conclusion of "and she learned to stay her course and never give up." I would've given it 5 stars had it tied together all lessons learned, along with her paying the man who fixed her ski!
Overall, this is an okay read. It's not something I want readers to rush to buy, but if they happen upon it (at a discount) I would suggest them read it!
The short story begins with Molly showcasing her skills as a skier. She's very confident and it's obvious she's been skiing for a very long time. The beginning did pull me in, but at times the pattern of the stanzas was a little off; this jerked me out of the reading experience.
The short story becomes interesting when she breaks her ski and subsequently learns to snowboard. having been the best at snowboarding, Molly is insecure when she has to start over completely with snowboarding. I enjoyed this part of the book. It shows Molly's resiliency and what can happen when you don't give up; when you continue to try.
The book ends with her deciding to ski again. She now knows how to master skiing and snowboarding. We aren't given much in the way of world-building or a resolution with the guy who fixed her ski. The story simply ends.
I had a few problems with this book.
First, the technique used. The beginning of this book is enjoyable because the stanzas are timed appropriately. As you go through the book, though, the pattern is off. For example:
Instead of the pattern being ABAB, it becomes ABB and ABAA.
Second, illustrations dominate each page, not the writing. So instead of focusing on the short story, you're focused on the picture. This is problematic to me because most children rely heavily on pictures to read; should a struggling reader read this book, I don't feel it would challenege them because each illustration gives away the story.
Finally, the book ends abruptly. We find Molly learning to embrace skiing and snowboarding, only to be cut off at the next page. I would've given this book 4 stars had it provided a conclusion of "and she learned to stay her course and never give up." I would've given it 5 stars had it tied together all lessons learned, along with her paying the man who fixed her ski!
Overall, this is an okay read. It's not something I want readers to rush to buy, but if they happen upon it (at a discount) I would suggest them read it!
December 19, 2015
I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange of an honest opinion.
This book tells (in verse) a story of a sporty girl who picks up a new skill, snowboarding, excels in it, and basically has a lot of fun.
I like the idea, but have some issues with the implementation. I might be overcritical, but it’s a children book, which implies certain level of expectations when it come to quality.
The text is OK. It is quite energetic, though the rhythm is not always perfectly consistent. I didn’t like the use of specific phrases like “She skied the blues and blacks”, which are confusing to the readers who, like me, never went to an actual ski resort. However, the message about spending time and effort to learn something new is good.
On the other hand, the illustrations are a big problem. Which surprised me, because I actually like the cover, at least its tiny version on the preview. All the illustrations are computer-generated 3D. The model for the main character is not that bad, but her dog look horrible, especially the texture (or lack of) its fur. What is worse, the CGI scenes were converted into the final illustrations with many artifacts (think of screenshots of a video converted into very very low resolution). Molly’s face has clear patches of green and orange on some pages. The lighting of characters and background doesn’t always match.
In general, the book, though having an OK story, just looks unattractive and of low quality, which is very undesirable for a picture book.
You can read this and my other reviews on my blog: https://xellinablog.wordpress.com
This book tells (in verse) a story of a sporty girl who picks up a new skill, snowboarding, excels in it, and basically has a lot of fun.
I like the idea, but have some issues with the implementation. I might be overcritical, but it’s a children book, which implies certain level of expectations when it come to quality.
The text is OK. It is quite energetic, though the rhythm is not always perfectly consistent. I didn’t like the use of specific phrases like “She skied the blues and blacks”, which are confusing to the readers who, like me, never went to an actual ski resort. However, the message about spending time and effort to learn something new is good.
On the other hand, the illustrations are a big problem. Which surprised me, because I actually like the cover, at least its tiny version on the preview. All the illustrations are computer-generated 3D. The model for the main character is not that bad, but her dog look horrible, especially the texture (or lack of) its fur. What is worse, the CGI scenes were converted into the final illustrations with many artifacts (think of screenshots of a video converted into very very low resolution). Molly’s face has clear patches of green and orange on some pages. The lighting of characters and background doesn’t always match.
In general, the book, though having an OK story, just looks unattractive and of low quality, which is very undesirable for a picture book.
You can read this and my other reviews on my blog: https://xellinablog.wordpress.com
December 27, 2015
This was a cute book that children who like to ski or snowboard will enjoy. Molly skis all the time and is an expert skier. When her ski breaks and she has to wait to get it fixed, the person who fixes it loans her a snowboard. She thinks it will be easy but finds out she will need to take lessons and practise to become good at this new sport. She succeeds and realizes that she now has two different skills she can enjoy.
The story is told in rhyme that varies throughout the story. This illustrations take up most of each page and are excellent with a lot of detail. I enjoyed the story but would have liked it to be just a little longer showing her enjoying both skills and not giving one up for the other. it is mentioned but not reinforced which I think is a good lesson for children. Overall I enjoyed this book and liked that they talked about taking lessons to become skilled at something especially something dangerous like skiing or snowboarding.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
The story is told in rhyme that varies throughout the story. This illustrations take up most of each page and are excellent with a lot of detail. I enjoyed the story but would have liked it to be just a little longer showing her enjoying both skills and not giving one up for the other. it is mentioned but not reinforced which I think is a good lesson for children. Overall I enjoyed this book and liked that they talked about taking lessons to become skilled at something especially something dangerous like skiing or snowboarding.
I received a copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.
January 3, 2016
Beautiful, but not very engaging. I hoped it would be more to it.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews