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Sometimes You Fly

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Illustrations and simple, rhyming text remind the reader that any achievement may be preceded by mistakes, and learning from them makes accomplishments sweeter.

40 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2018

1 person is currently reading
497 people want to read

About the author

Katherine Applegate

271 books6,298 followers
#1 New York Times bestselling author Katherine Applegate has written many books for young readers, including THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, winner of the 2013 Newbery Medal.

Katherine’s picture books include THE BUFFALO STORM, illustrated by Jan Ormerod (Clarion Books); THE REMARKABLE TRUE STORY OF IVAN, THE SHOPPING MALL GORILLA, illustrated by G. Brian Karas (Clarion Books); SOMETIMES YOU FLY, illustrated by Jennifer Black Reinhardt (Clarion Books); and ODDER: AN OTTER’S STORY, illustrated by Charles Santoso (Feiwel & Friends).

She’s written or co-written three early chapter series for young readers: ROSCOE RILEY RULES, a seven-book series illustrated by Brian Biggs (HarperCollins); DOGGO AND PUPPER, a three-book series illustrated by Charlie Alder (Feiwel & Friends). With Gennifer Choldenko, she co-authored DOGTOWN and MOUSE AND HIS DOG, illustrated by Wallace West (Feiwel & Friends).

Books for middle-grade readers include HOME OF THE BRAVE (Feiwel & Friends); THE ONE AND ONLY series, illustrated by Patricia Castelao, including THE ONE AND ONLY IVAN, THE ONE AND ONLY BOB, THE ONE AND ONLY RUBY, and THE ONE AND ONLY FAMILY (HarperCollins); the ENDLING trilogy (HarperCollins); CRENSHAW (Feiwel & Friends); WISHTREE (Feiwel & Friends); WILLODEEN (Feiwel & Friends); ODDER (Feiwel & Friends); and the forthcoming POCKET BEAR (Feiwel & Friends).

With her husband, Michael Grant, Katherine co-wrote ANIMORPHS, a long-running series that has sold over 35 million books worldwide. They also wrote two other series, REMNANTS and EVERWORLD, and a young adult novel, EVE AND ADAM (Feiwel & Friends.)

Katherine’s work has been translated into dozens of languages, and her books have won accolades including the Christopher Medal, the Golden Kite Award, the Bank Street Josette Frank Award, the California Book Award Gold Medal, the Crystal Kite Award, the Green Earth Book Honor Award, the Charlotte Zolotow Honor Award, and the E.B. White Read Aloud Award. Many of her works have appeared on state master lists, Best of the Year lists, and Publishers Weekly, USA Today, and New York Times bestseller lists.

Katherine lives in Nevada with her husband and assorted pets. She is represented by Elena Giovinazzo at Heirloom Literary and Mary Pender at WME.

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5 stars
303 (33%)
4 stars
336 (36%)
3 stars
208 (22%)
2 stars
56 (6%)
1 star
11 (1%)
Displaying 1 - 30 of 192 reviews
Profile Image for Calista.
5,434 reviews31.3k followers
March 22, 2020
Sometimes you Fly would make a great graduation gift, similar to ‘Oh the Places you’ll go”. It’s a look at life from all the lessons we learn to where we go. This does have graduation in the end, so I think it was meant to be that way. I did get ‘Oh the Places you’ll go’ for a graduation gift and I loved it then. This is another good one to get. Dr. Seuss is better, this is a second one.

The watercolors are beautiful and it does feel like a hazy sort of memory to have of life. There are lots of bumps and opps in these pages and life moves forward.

I love Katherine Applegate. I know here as a middle grade author and I have read and loved Wishtree, Ivan and me. When I saw she wrote this, I had to pick this up. I'm glad I got it before the library shut down.

I went ahead and read this to the nephew and he wasn’t that impressed by it, but I’m keeping this in mind and I’ll give it to him later when he can appreciate it more. He did think some of the things with children and babies were funny and the situations there were in like a broken vase or spilled food was funny. There isn’t much action so he gave this 2 stars. I think he will appreciate it in 8 years.
Profile Image for La Coccinelle.
2,259 reviews3,568 followers
July 30, 2018
This book is so sweet. I can't help but think it's also pretty... meme-able (is that a word?), in that its little verses and pictures are cute reminders of things that all of us would do well to remember when we make mistakes.

The rhyming verse is simple but meaningful, and the illustrations are adorable. I can't find much to complain about here. This is a great picture book for those who are still learning and growing... which is pretty much everyone, really.
Profile Image for Kifflie.
1,590 reviews4 followers
July 3, 2018
I really liked this book. It's got a great message that not everything is a success, but that sometimes it is, and life is full of ups and downs and lessons to learn. The illustrations are full of emotion without being sappy, and I love the multicultural cast.
Profile Image for Linda Quinn.
1,378 reviews31 followers
May 5, 2018
Really sweet illustrations and a simple rhyming text that reminds children (and adults) that it's okay to try new things and fail, that accomplishment can be sweeter after a few tries.
Profile Image for Chrisanne.
2,913 reviews63 followers
May 7, 2025
Definitely for older kids. Some picture books are just picture books by default---the illustrations are a good bonus. With this one the illustrations are absolutely essential and really do add value to the message.
Profile Image for Becky.
6,191 reviews305 followers
February 26, 2018
First sentence: Before the cake...before the peas...before the laugh...before the seas...before the blocks...before the grow...

Premise/plot: Sometimes You Fly is a picture book for older readers. In fact, it is a picture book for young adults or "new adults." It is a reflective, near-poetic glance backwards at all of life's little-and-big moments of growing and coming-of-age. This sequence is carried mainly by the illustrations.

My thoughts: I liked this one. I'm not sure I loved, loved, loved it. But then again I am an adult that prefers reading picture books written for actual children. The first half of the picture book is leading up to graduation--perhaps high school, perhaps college. The second half of the picture book is the 'motivational' sequence reminding everyone--young and old--that life is full of mistakes that you learn from.

The illustrations definitely do the majority of the work in this one. The text is minimal. And in the first half of the book the text is often written in incomplete sentences or sentence fractures. The sequence works because of the illustrations, not because the text is super-amazing. The text improves in the second half of the book.

Overall, the illustrations show the universal aspect of growing up.

Text: 3 out of 5
Illustrations: 3 out of 5
Total: 6 out of 10
Profile Image for Kelley.
1,281 reviews10 followers
January 16, 2019
I read this book with my 6 year old; we both liked it, but the format was a big distraction. The first 2/3rds of the book didn't have many words. Most of the story is told in the pictures. I wouldn't have minded this, but the pictures that go together are front and back. I did take the time to help my son work out what was happening in the pictures, but we spent a lot of time flipping back and forth in the book. It would have helped tremendously if the pages had been laid out facing each other instead of front and back. Instead, the message of the book was a little lost with all the flipping back and forth. 2 stars for that part of the book.

The last 1/3rd of the book had more words and grouped the pictures and words together on facing pages. That part of the book was very well-done, and I felt like my son "got" the message of the book in that section. 4 stars for the last 1/3rd of the book.

3 stars average. The message of the book was good, but the page lay out was a distraction.
Profile Image for Westminster Library.
973 reviews54 followers
August 12, 2018
Failure often precedes success but for young kids this can be a hard lesson to learn. In a manner similar to books such as Dr. Seuss' Oh, the Places You'll Go! Applegate uses simple rhyming text to show that the winding journey should be enjoyed just as much as getting to the destination, wherever that may be.

Find Sometimes You Fly at the Westminster Public Library!
Profile Image for Deb.
1,586 reviews20 followers
November 7, 2019
This is a very good teaching book. People learn, grow, and change. Time and experience transform us. I like the concept and the illustrations. "Sometimes you fail, sometimes you fly." Simple and true.
Profile Image for Stef.
590 reviews190 followers
May 9, 2020
cute illustrated and deep meaning message of growing up. 💙💙💙
Profile Image for Zaybet Frías.
128 reviews20 followers
February 27, 2019
Hay veces que uno necesita escuchar que puede, leerlo le da un significado completamente diferente. Es perfecto para niños que parezca no tengan mucha confianza en sí mismos.
Profile Image for Michelle (FabBookReviews).
1,053 reviews39 followers
July 14, 2018

Before the cake...
before the peas...
before the laugh...
before the seas...


So begins the heartfelt, sweet and wonderfully illustrated picture book Sometimes You Fly by Newbery Medal winner Katherine Applegate (The One and Only Ivan), illustrated by Jennifer Black Reinhardt (Blue Ethel).

A starred review from Booklist (a snippet of which is also quoted on the book jacket) notes Sometimes You Fly as a 'natural successor' to the perennial graduation gift Oh, the Places You'll Go! by Dr. Seuss. And yes, absolutely: given the hopeful, commemorative and forward-looking nature, Sometimes You Fly is a super new choice or alternative pick to the usual! With Katherine Applegate's rhyming and rhythmic text reading as so genuine and natural, and Jennifer Black Reinhardt's memorable artwork- which I fell in love with in Blue Ethel- Sometimes You Fly truly stand-outs and sings as an all-ages kind of celebratory read.

With each short line of text of 'before', full page illustrations (front and back) illustrate or highlight the before and after of a momentous occasion. For example, with 'before the team...' readers see a girl try multiple swings at bat, while the back side shows the young girl jumping up in excitement at having made a softball team. After numerous and varied 'before's', the book gently shifts to take readers through some of the highs and lows of attempting new things, of making mistakes, of saying goodbyes, and softly stresses the importance of what we take and learn from our experiences. Applegate's writing here, as in her children's novels, is composed and reassuring, this lovely mix of gravitas mixed with lightness. Reinhardt's illustrations are such a brilliant complement to Applegate's text: the illustrations show such detail, such expressiveness and nuanced emotions, from moments of joy to catastrophe to everything in between.

Overall, Sometimes You Fly is a kindhearted, hopeful read with marvelous illustrations that will indeed make it an appealing (and rightfully so!) gift to celebrate graduations and other such occasions, but it's also a lovely read in its own right that can be enjoyed quietly or aloud at anytime by any reader looking for a little assurance or hope.

I received a copy of this title courtesy of Raincoast Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions and comments are my own.
490 reviews10 followers
April 30, 2018
One of the hardest lessons to learn in life is to get back up after failure. This never gets easier as we get older, we just learn how to do it quicker and with less heartache (most of the time).

As parents, one of the greatest gifts we can give our child is the opportunity to make a mistake and to fail but also to encourage them to try again. That this one moment will not define them - that they will make it through. The unknown is scary, even more so for young adults and children who have never had to deal with this before. We have to show them that it is okay to take a leap of faith, to try something new but also step back and allow them the freedom to make a mistake and not jump in to fix it. Not the easiest task for parents as it feels like since day one our main job has been to protect them!

I fell in love with this touching book that would make an excellent graduation gift, even though it seems like it would be geared towards younger children. It explores from birth to adulthood all the major milestones that at the time seem impossible but looking back they seem so small. We can cherish every accomplishment and know that for every failure, we picked ourselves up and tried again. With every risk we take in our lives, there is always a chance of failing but there is also a chance to soar into something new and exciting. That is what makes every risk and jump of faith worth it.

This beautifully illustrated book came at the right time for my family as a reminder that it is okay to make mistakes and to fail. Failure does not define us as a person but instead it gives us the chance to leap into something new. Sometimes You Fly is a special book for young children and adults alike as they move forward in their life and need that little bit of encouragement and pat on the back to say it will be okay.
Profile Image for Stephanie Bange.
2,061 reviews23 followers
May 28, 2018
Katherine Applegate gives us another alternative inspirational gift book for recent grads of all grades... This charmer is sure to be a classic gift book in the future. The gentle rhyming text with its calm rhythms and utterly sweet nature for all age readers.

Rhyming text offers many examples of mistakes many have made in the past, encouraging the reader to take the lesson to heart and apply it in the future.

Jennifer Black Reinhardt's ink and watercolor illustrations are filled with charm and humor. The two-page spreads in the first half of the book are set so you must turn the page from the failure to see the result of the success at it. The diverse mix of kids range from babies to tiny tikes to elementary-aged to middle grade to high school. Each image is jam-packed with life and liveliness. Particularly remarkable is the image for the statement "When breezes blow we learn to bend." In it, the text is on the left side of the page, with swirling movement of the breeze moving the eye to the left until you stop because of the heft of the tree to look down at the girl and her young sibling holding a funeral for their beloved pet fish.

A great gift book for all ages.
Profile Image for Cindy Mitchell *Kiss the Book*.
6,037 reviews219 followers
March 30, 2018
Applegate, Katherine Sometimes You Fly Illustrated by Jennifer Black Reinhardt PICTURE BOOK Clarion Books (Houghton Mifflin), 2018. $18. Content: G.

This book explores how in life we have all kinds of experiences. Before the accomplishments, we have to learn and sometimes overcome hardships. The pride or disappointment is just part of the process of learning new things. This is a simple poem with 3-4 word lines on each page. The illustrations are whimsical and reflect the different times in our lives where we learn or try new things such as baking, dancing, driving, falling in love or making new friends.

The moral of the story is that through all of our experiences sometimes you fail, but sometimes you fly. My son thought this book was weird, but that’s because it’s geared more towards adults as a book of reflection. The illustrations weren't my favorite.

EL (K-3), GIFT – OPTIONAL. Reviewer, C. Peterson.
https://kissthebook.blogspot.com/2018...
Profile Image for ShaziaH.
32 reviews
June 20, 2019
Remember, then, with every try, sometimes you fail… sometimes you fly.

Sometimes You Fly
by Katherine Applegate is a 2019 Notable Poetry Book by the NCTE Award for Excellence in Children’s Poetry Committee. This picture book is perfect for any age because it teaches an important life lesson: you will have many ups and downs in life, but it is important to learn from mistakes in order to become successful. The story contains simple rhyming verses that will engage all readers. The illustrations are simple, bright, and meaningful. There are various characters that represent different cultures. The illustrations support the theme of striving towards accomplishment as there are before and after pictures of different life experiences. This would be a perfect book for primary students to identify rhyming words and for upper elementary students to identify rhyme scheme and poetry structure.


Profile Image for Erin.
526 reviews
August 12, 2018
“What matters most / is what you take / from all you learn / before the cake.” Thus ends Katherine Applegate’s newest picture book, Sometimes You Fly. Each right-hand page begins with “Before…” and reveals the after through a beautiful watercolor illustration on the following page. From beginning with a first birthday through graduation, Applegate highlights the ups and downs of growing up. With the help of family and friends, children learn and grow. By trying new things, they learn what they enjoy and their strengths; something every reader can relate to. This is a wonderful picture book for the first day of Kindergarten to help ease any jitters; it explains the “bad” that happens before the good occurs. It will also remind parents of the same struggles they dealt with with their own children, and the excitement when firsts, fears, and fights were overcome.
Profile Image for Rachel.
631 reviews54 followers
May 6, 2018
I wish I could have read this one a little slower, yet I was short on time. But, that's kind of ironic isn't it since the whole premise of the book is that times gonna fly and you will too once you've done so much first. I liked the idea of the story. I thought it was an interesting take that I haven't really seen before. Like I said though, it was read fast, so I wasn't really able to take it all in, or enjoy- or maybe not enjoy- the illustrations.

It should probably be four stars because I just feel like I really liked it, but without having given it my full attention it's not really fair to give it the extra one right now.
Profile Image for Andrea.
26 reviews
June 18, 2018
@kidlitexchange #partner
Thanks to the @kidlitexchange network for the review copy of Sometimes you Fly. All opinions are my own.
Katherine Applegate’s writing ia always hearfelt, whether it’s in a novel or a picture book. Sometimes you Fly is no exception. This simple, poetic text is perfect for anyone making a choice or making a change, anyone at a turning point in life. We can learn from every experience in life and everyone we meet along the way. Jennifer Black Reinhardt’s illustrations are a fitting companion to the text. This would make a great gift book for a graduate or someone embarking on a new path.
#kidlitexchange #sometimesyoufly #picturebooks
Profile Image for Kristen.
1,089 reviews26 followers
September 7, 2018
I rarely review picture books here on Goodreads because I read so many of them. But when I read this one, I knew I had to get on here and shout it to the world. This book is beautiful, both the words and the illustrations, and it carries an important lesson about the effort and time that it takes for every achievement. This book is being talked about as a natural successor to "Oh The Places You'll Go" as a book to give out to graduates. It is definitely a worthy competitor in that category. (Incidentally, another good one to give to graduates would be "Love," by Matt de la Peña) This one is a beauty!!!
Profile Image for Michelle.
265 reviews3 followers
March 7, 2019
Audience: K-4
Connections: cause/effect, growing up, SEL

This is an example of how the illustrations make up most of the story in a children's Picture Book.

As the book begins, we see struggles followed by successes in often humorous, sometimes melancholy illustrations. Jennifer Black Reinhardt's ink and watercolor illustrations convey a sense of verisimilitude that most readers will appreciate.

Though I like the illustrations and the message is an important one, this book is likely to appeal to older readers. As the front flap states, "this book [is] perfect for new parents, recent grads, or anyone reaching for the sky."

Booklist Starred Review
Profile Image for Julie.
1,548 reviews
April 19, 2018
A lovely picture book that reminds readers about all of the challenges of childhood, and some of the failures. The experiences of the children pictured demonstrate how tenacity, persistence, and adaptability eventually lead to personal growth and positive results: "But when we break we learn to mend. When breezes blow we learn to bend." Whether it's a broken vase, a fall on roller skates, or a lost balloon, readers will recognize their own childhood in these charming, whimsical ink and watercolor illustrations by artist Jennifer Black Reinhardt.
Profile Image for Karin.
567 reviews22 followers
June 26, 2018
I would like to give this 4.5 stars because I think it is more accessible for grown-ups than for kids, but it is a beautiful book. the prose is lovely, the artwork is precious and the message made me teary (that may not entirely be the book's fault). The only reason I think it might be a little less accessible for little ones is that so much happens in the pictures and the story is held almost above the prose. they like
y wouldn't u derstandtge story without some significant extra talking from their grown-ups...which shouldn't really be an issue. Loved it.
58 reviews
February 9, 2019
What a sweet book. I love the message of this book also. It shows that it is okay to make mistakes but it’s what you do with those mistakes matters! I also really enjoyed the illustrations. I kept saying “aw” as I turned the page to continue reading. I love it when books have great lessons behind them to get young readers to learn about.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 192 reviews

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