Roller Coaster

by Kevin O'Malley

A young girl recounts her previous year's visit to an amusement park, where she rode on all the rides but the roller coaster, for which she was too short--but this year will be different

Genres: Picture Books, Fiction, Childrens

24 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

There is more than one author by this name on Goodreads.

Kevin O'Malley is the co-author and illustrator of the popular Miss Malarkey series as well as the award-winning Once Upon a Cool Motorcycle Dude and the national bestseller Gimme Cracked Corn and I Will Share. He lives in Baltimore, Maryland.
He also has visited hundreds and hundreds of schools.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Besides being a fun story with great illustrations, this one brought back some terrific memories for me of my family's own annual trip to Hersheypark, and the boys measuring themselves to see what they were allowed to ride.



My oldest son was stuck at Reese's for the longest time, and there was much rejoicing when he finally became a full-sized Hershey bar.

[Shaye Miller · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's fantastic to grow older and bigger so that you can ride the roller coaster. Perhaps a great read before visiting an amusement park!

[Paul Hankins · Rating 4 out of 5]

ROLLER COASTER would work well as a mentor text with younger readers and writers for its presentation of "this year vs. last year" as a girl describes her time at the park and a hurdle that keeps her from riding the Monster Coaster. This kind of set up (including Kevin's depiction of a girl a year older with a favorite t-shirt that doesn't quite fit and new glasses)invites a framework for personal narrative that might describe a new experience or new growth.

Kevin's illustrations follow the text on the pages of ROLLER COASTER making the book a super choice for younger readers.

[David Natiuk · Rating 3 out of 5]

Checked this one out because my family loves Roller Coasters. Fun little tale about a girl who loves the amusement parks, but is sad she isn't tall enough for the rollercoaster. Like the cover suggests, the funniest part is when the Dad has to ride the coaster at the end (why is it the Dad is always the joke? Doesn't apply to THIS household ;-)

[Beth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last year Fantasy Park was fun, but they were too small for the coaster. This year they are bigger and able to ride and enjoy. It reminds you that we all need to wait a bit sometimes for things that we want.

[The Brothers · Rating 4 out of 5]

A simple, but fun, story about a little girl's trip to the amusement park. She is too short to ride the roller coaster, but the next year when she goes, she has grown enough to get on the ride.

Really fun illustrations.

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Mainly pictures with few words--a fun book for little ones