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Skates!
Two dogs almost give up their efforts to learn to roller skate until they have an opportunity to help a stranded kitten.
- GenresPicture BooksChildrens
32 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1973
About the author
Ezra Jack Keats
125 books379 followersEzra Jack Keats was an American writer and illustrator of children's books. He won the 1963 Caldecott Medal for illustrating The Snowy Day, which he also wrote. Many of Ezra’s stories are about a group of friends growing up in the city. The neighborhood they live in looks like the streets where Ezra grew up in Brooklyn, New York.
He was born Jacob Ezra Katz, the third child of Polish-Jewish immigrants Benjamin Katz and Augusta Podgainy. The family was very poor. Jack, as he was known, was artistic from an early age, and joyfully made pictures out of whatever scraps of wood, cloth and paper that he could collect. Benjamin Katz, who worked as a waiter, tried to discourage his son, insisting that artists lived terrible, impoverished lives. Nevertheless, he sometimes brought home tubes of paint, claiming, "A starving artist swapped this for a bowl of soup."
With little encouragement at home, Keats sought validation for his skills at school and learned about art at the public library. He received a medal for drawing on graduating from Junior High School 149. Although unimpressive-looking, the medal meant a great deal to him, and he kept it his entire life. Keats attended Thomas Jefferson High School, where he won a national contest run by Scholastic for an oil painting depicting hobos warming themselves around a fire. At his graduation, in January 1935, he was to receive the senior class medal for excellence in art. Two days before the ceremony, Benjamin Katz died in the street of a heart attack. When Keats identified his father's body, he later wrote, "I found myself staring deep into his secret feelings. There in his wallet were worn and tattered newspaper clippings of the notices of the awards I had won. My silent admirer and supplier, he had been torn between his dread of my leading a life of hardship and his real pride in my work."
His father's death curtailed his dream of attending art school. For the remainder of the Great Depression until he was drafted for military service in World War II, Keats took art classes when he could and worked at a number of jobs, most notably as a mural painter under the New Deal program the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and as a comic book illustrator. At Fawcett Publications, he illustrated backgrounds for the Captain Marvel comic strip. He spent his military service (1943-45) designing camouflage patterns for the U.S. Army Air Force. In 1947, he petitioned to legally change his name to Ezra Jack Keats, in reaction to the anti-Semitic prejudice of the time.
Keats spent most of 1949 painting and studying in Paris, realizing a long-deferred dream of working as an artist. After returning to New York, he focused on earning a living as a commercial artist, undoubtedly influenced by his father's anxieties. His illustrations began to appear in Reader's Digest, The New York Times Book Review, Collier's and Playboy, and on the jackets of popular books. His work was displayed in Fifth Avenue store windows, and the Associated American Artists Gallery, in New York City, gave him exhibitions in 1950 and 1954.
In his unpublished autobiography, Keats wrote, "I didn't even ask to get into children's books." In fact, he was asked to do so by Elizabeth Riley of Crowell, which brought out his first children's title, Jubilant for Sure, written by Elisabeth Hubbard Lansing, in 1954. To prepare for the assignment, Keats went to rural Kentucky, where the story takes place, to sketch. Many children's books followed, including the Danny Dunn adventure series, by Jay Williams and Raymond Abrashkin, and an ethnographic series by Tillie S. Pine and Joseph Levine, beginning with The Indians Knew. All told, Keats illustrated nearly 70 books written by other authors.
In 1983, Keats died at the age of 67 following a heart attack. His last projects included designing the sets for a musical version of his book The Trip (which would later become the stage production Captain Louie), designing
He was born Jacob Ezra Katz, the third child of Polish-Jewish immigrants Benjamin Katz and Augusta Podgainy. The family was very poor. Jack, as he was known, was artistic from an early age, and joyfully made pictures out of whatever scraps of wood, cloth and paper that he could collect. Benjamin Katz, who worked as a waiter, tried to discourage his son, insisting that artists lived terrible, impoverished lives. Nevertheless, he sometimes brought home tubes of paint, claiming, "A starving artist swapped this for a bowl of soup."
With little encouragement at home, Keats sought validation for his skills at school and learned about art at the public library. He received a medal for drawing on graduating from Junior High School 149. Although unimpressive-looking, the medal meant a great deal to him, and he kept it his entire life. Keats attended Thomas Jefferson High School, where he won a national contest run by Scholastic for an oil painting depicting hobos warming themselves around a fire. At his graduation, in January 1935, he was to receive the senior class medal for excellence in art. Two days before the ceremony, Benjamin Katz died in the street of a heart attack. When Keats identified his father's body, he later wrote, "I found myself staring deep into his secret feelings. There in his wallet were worn and tattered newspaper clippings of the notices of the awards I had won. My silent admirer and supplier, he had been torn between his dread of my leading a life of hardship and his real pride in my work."
His father's death curtailed his dream of attending art school. For the remainder of the Great Depression until he was drafted for military service in World War II, Keats took art classes when he could and worked at a number of jobs, most notably as a mural painter under the New Deal program the Works Progress Administration (WPA) and as a comic book illustrator. At Fawcett Publications, he illustrated backgrounds for the Captain Marvel comic strip. He spent his military service (1943-45) designing camouflage patterns for the U.S. Army Air Force. In 1947, he petitioned to legally change his name to Ezra Jack Keats, in reaction to the anti-Semitic prejudice of the time.
Keats spent most of 1949 painting and studying in Paris, realizing a long-deferred dream of working as an artist. After returning to New York, he focused on earning a living as a commercial artist, undoubtedly influenced by his father's anxieties. His illustrations began to appear in Reader's Digest, The New York Times Book Review, Collier's and Playboy, and on the jackets of popular books. His work was displayed in Fifth Avenue store windows, and the Associated American Artists Gallery, in New York City, gave him exhibitions in 1950 and 1954.
In his unpublished autobiography, Keats wrote, "I didn't even ask to get into children's books." In fact, he was asked to do so by Elizabeth Riley of Crowell, which brought out his first children's title, Jubilant for Sure, written by Elisabeth Hubbard Lansing, in 1954. To prepare for the assignment, Keats went to rural Kentucky, where the story takes place, to sketch. Many children's books followed, including the Danny Dunn adventure series, by Jay Williams and Raymond Abrashkin, and an ethnographic series by Tillie S. Pine and Joseph Levine, beginning with The Indians Knew. All told, Keats illustrated nearly 70 books written by other authors.
In 1983, Keats died at the age of 67 following a heart attack. His last projects included designing the sets for a musical version of his book The Trip (which would later become the stage production Captain Louie), designing
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
October 12, 2019
Not correct to call this "wordless" - while there are several non-words that are more "sounds" (crack! whee! oooph! oh! aaagh!) there is also actual dialogue: "Wait!" and "I've had it!" - "Yeah! Who wants to skate anyway?" and "Help! Help!" which are essential to understanding the story.
June 28, 2018
Skates! is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Ezra Jack Keats, which tells a story about a pair of dogs that found roller skates in the garbage and decides to give roller skating a try.
The text is virtually non-existent – the story is entirely told in illustrations and the reader's imagination. In short, two dogs find roller skates in the garbage and decided to give roller skating a try and the hilarious shenanigans that they go through. The illustrations are wonderfully depicted and incredibly funny and convey the story well without the need of text.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. It tells an unlikely story about a pair of dogs roller skating after finding an abandoned pair in the garbage. The learning curve is steep, but it is hilarious watching these dogs try to skate. Through their shenanigans they even managed to save a falling cat from a tree.
All in all, Skate! is a wonderful children's book about the improbability of two dogs roller skating and the imaginative story that they go through.
The text is virtually non-existent – the story is entirely told in illustrations and the reader's imagination. In short, two dogs find roller skates in the garbage and decided to give roller skating a try and the hilarious shenanigans that they go through. The illustrations are wonderfully depicted and incredibly funny and convey the story well without the need of text.
The premise of the book is rather straightforward. It tells an unlikely story about a pair of dogs roller skating after finding an abandoned pair in the garbage. The learning curve is steep, but it is hilarious watching these dogs try to skate. Through their shenanigans they even managed to save a falling cat from a tree.
All in all, Skate! is a wonderful children's book about the improbability of two dogs roller skating and the imaginative story that they go through.
May 8, 2020
Such a funny book. I laughed maybe more than my kids!
October 2, 2022
Vibrant colors except on the pages where something unpleasant happens. Then Keats uses varying shades of brown on cream. The paper has an unusual texture. Is this because it was printed in Japan or because the book is "a Franklin Watts Library Edition"?
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 17, 2024
Very cute. Just the right amount of words, if you ask me. Delightful illustrations, so lively. I've rounded up my rating because there's no reason the community average should be so low.
December 11, 2015
I loved it, but I am biased cos I adore Keats' illustrations, which were brilliant, vibrant, and showed the movement of the dogs trying to skate. I had no idea we owned this book at my library. What a treasure to find. Needs a new mylar cover so it does not look so old and beat up cos it is in a real good condition on the inside.
February 2, 2009
A story about a couple of dogs that put on some skates that were thrown in the garbage and they whirl and twirl around trying to gain their footing.
I like the story because it is told without words and the children look at the pictures to find out what is happening in the story.
I like the story because it is told without words and the children look at the pictures to find out what is happening in the story.
February 15, 2016
A little bit of crazy fun as two dogs find some skates and do their best to avoid disaster. Just as they decide to give up, they find an opportunity to be helpful heros.
Not as colorful or gritty as the Peter series of book by Keats, but still fun.
Not as colorful or gritty as the Peter series of book by Keats, but still fun.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews