Ready, set, run! The amazing New York City Marathon

Every year, shortly before the first Sunday in November, people from around the world gather to participate in the New York City Marathon. Most are runners, but there's a wheelchair division as well. Competitors may do practice runs in advance. On the night before the event, they take showers or bubble baths. Some eat spaghetti dinners. Early Sunday morning, they gather on Staten Island. They cast off extra clothing, and the New York City Marathon begins. Spectators line the route, holding up signs and calling out encouragement to the athletes, who can stop at stations that offer food and water, bathrooms, or first aid. After Staten Island, marathoners run through Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx, and back to Manhattan for the finish line. Creating an upbeat tone, Kimmelman's narrative maintains a steady pace throughout the book, while small sidebars add brief "fun facts" for kids to enjoy. Hartland's wonderfully detailed gouache illustrations set a cheerful tone while taking advantage of the book's horizontal format, which suits the topic well. This attractive picture book introduces marathons to children.

"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. (Aug.)

A celebration of the world's largest annual race. "It's a BIG DEAL to run in the New York City Marathon," Kimmelman burbles--going on to describe how runners from more than 100 countries stretch, add tunes to their playlists, put on their lucky socks, or otherwise prepare and then gather in the thousands at the Staten Island starting area to, at the blast of a cannon, "poundpoundpoundpoundpound…" their way over the 26.2 mile course to its finish in Central Park. Tongue firmly in cheek, Hartland portrays massed clumps and drawn-out strings of participants diverse of age, race, and body type, some using wheelchairs, some in costumes, streaming over bridges or up and down city streets past both the occasional inset fact box and spectators cheering them on with signs ("Keep Going!"; "Go César!"; "You are NOT almost there"; "This is a lot of work for a free banana") and snacks. At the finish line, it's leafy crowns for the winners but "medals for everyone!" and a slow, weary wind down. "What a city! What a day! What an amazing race!" It all goes by too fast for readers to feel as if they've actually run the course…but could well leave them ready to try, one day. (This book was reviewed digitally.) A fresh, buoyant high stepper. (afterword, selected sources) (Informational picture book. 6-8) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.