Skateboard Sibby

Moving to another city is difficult enough for Sibby after her father loses his job. Changing schools, missing friends and, for Sibby, a talented skateboarder, breaking her board before she moved leaves her frustrated and angry. On her first day of school, she sees an amazing skateboard park next to her new elementary school. To make the loss of her skateboard even worse is her encounter with Freddie, a super skater and a bully. In order to prove herself and to stand up to this bully, Sibby agrees to a competition with Freddie. Skateboard Sibby recounts the emotion-filled days leading up to the competition. In dealing with her anger and the overwhelming frustration of the changes she feels have been imposed on her, Sibby gains some awareness of her own feelings and those of others.

Author Clare O’Connor provides middle years readers with a story involving change, friendship, bullying and disappointment through the theme of skateboarding. For readers unfamiliar with the skateboard culture and language which flows through the book, the text might be difficult to understand or follow. A glossary of terms used in the book, words such as dope, pop, fake and ollie, might be useful for a reader who is interested in a skateboarding novel.

Skateboard Sibby is set in Nova Scotia where skateboarding is apparently popular with children from elementary school age and up. The appeal of this book will depend on the popularity of this action sport in the reader’s area. The topics of friendship, changes, emotions and bullying are addressed at a middle school level. The flow of the story seems uneven at time partly due to the inclusion of several characters who make brief appearances but are not sufficiently developed to clearly impact the plot. It also seems as if each character has an issue to deal with which may be realistic but unnecessary to the resolution of Sibby’s problems. The narrative style and general vocabulary are reader friendly, even for a reluctant reader. The style of the cover illustration art might be a bit juvenile for the intended audience.

Skateboard Sibby provides a story about change and bullying with its novel theme of skateboarding. Keen skateboarders or readers interested in something new will find Skateboard Sibby a quick read.