My First Skateboard

by Karl Watson, Henry Jones (Illustrator)

After 30 years of skateboarding in San Francisco and around the world professional skater, Karl Watson, wrote this children's book in hopes of inspiring future generations to become skateboarders.

30 pages, Hardcover

Published January 1, 2017

Reviews

[Olivia VanDamme · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very sweet book that demonstrates the welcoming skate community, and experience of learning with others cheering on your progress. Some great messages about the power of sport, and very great children’s book.

[Joe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I grew up skateboarding, and while I don’t go out to skate as much as I’d like to these days, I’m still in love with it; much of my time online is spent following everything that’s happening in that special world. I met Karl Watson in 2008 or 2009 at the flat spot in Golden Gate Park right off of 6th Avenue and Fulton Street in San Francisco. He’s a legend in the skateboarding world and especially the local SF scene. At one point, SF was the Mecca of skateboarding, so to speak—the high school where I student teach is a fairly famous skate spot—and Karl was in the midst of it all as part of the legendary EMB scene. I vividly remember his effusive and contagious kindness, warmth, and positivity, qualities of his that have been unmatched by anyone whom I’ve met to this day, and his personality seeps into this book. I only met him once, but he left a significantly positive impression upon me. I’m all for being yourself, but really, I think we should all try to be a bit more like Karl in certain ways, too. I’m also a fan of the artwork of Henry Jones, so his illustrations in the book are a bonus. I have a lot of work to do today, but maybe I’ll put all of that to the side and go out to skate for a while...

[Katja Labonté · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars & 3/10 hearts. This book was gifted to me & my siblings by our youngest uncle, who is a skateboarder. Because of this, it is pretty special to me. The font of the book drives me insane, and the style of the illustrations isn’t my style, but the story itself is nice and I like how clean and appropriate and kind it is.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

According to this book, skateboarding will save the world.