Starred Review for Kirkus Reviews

A fair-skinned, freckle-spattered mom and her brown-skinned, dark-haired daughter each feel the nervousness that comes with approaching a new experience.In a remarkably sparse text-sentences are often single words and only twice more than three words in length-the pair's story unfolds side by side. Daughter is a plucky pitcher out to prove herself and improve her skills on the baseball field. Mom is a tenacious mason looking to secure a new job and execute it with excellence. Both are fiercely hardworking and determined, emphasized through the use of minimal words and the illustrations' focus on the tasks at hand. After each secures her position, the bulk of the story depicts the daily grind required to reach her goal. Between pages of work, softly textured cartoons show mom and daughter taking respite at home, where it is just the two of them and their cat. While there is much to be done and each is tired at the end of the long days, there is no sense of struggle implied; empowerment abounds. The graphic-novel illustration style, in which windows of alternating action move the storyline forward, adds to the feeling that this duo of everyday heroines is unstoppable.A celebration of female perseverance and success: brava! (Picture book. 4-9)

ALA Booklist (Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2020)

In parallel stories th literally parallel illustrations girl tries out for a baseball team while her mother interviews for a job. Brief lines of words or short phrases give the story an energetic pace that matches the movements of the main characters as they check their equipment and get ready. For the daughter, "Cap. Glove. Shoes" moves into "Bat steady. Wait to swing. Spring. Slide. Leap. Spin." The mother, who is a bricklayer, meets with potential clients, describes her vision for their new patio, and begins sampling work: "Gloves. Goggles. Boots . . . Job site. Wheelbarrow. Oozing mortar." This family is real. Red-haired, freckled mom has tattoos and is worrying over meals and bills, but she also is a successful businessperson and skilled tradeswoman. The daughter, of light-brown skin and hair, does her chores and her homework and then is ready to step up to the mound and pitch at Saturday's game. The watercolor-and-pastel illustrations depict the concurrent story lines through panels, contrasting the two characters in a humorous and effective way.

Horn Book (Wed Apr 01 00:00:00 CDT 2020)

Although our two protagonists spend little of the book together, they are connected throughout by their hard work and achievement. This family of two starts the day in a groggy daze as the sun rises over the breakfast table. Tate's text is concise, with many pages featuring only a brief list. "Cereal. Bananas. Milk" describes the daughter's breakfast, while mom takes "Orange juice. Toast. Coffee." In the car, the daughter anxiously taps her fingers on the backseat while mom does the same on the steering wheel. "Nervous?" the mother asks. "A little. You?" the daughter replies. Over the next several pages we watch the day unfold in side-by-side illustrations, often displayed in multiple panels. While the daughter tackles baseball tryouts, the mom starts a new bricklaying job. What's touched on in the text is made specific in Kath's watercolor and pastel illustrations. Daughter's successful base hit is shown opposite two panels of mom's construction project ("Butter. Scrape. Smooth"). We feel mom's pride in her handiwork and see it reflected in her smile across the spread from her daughter's own satisfied stance on the pitching mound ("Catch. Toss. Grin"). After their eventful day, each sleeps soundly, ready to give it their all again the next time. Details such as the umpire's bubblegum bubble as our ballplayer prepares her pitch, and Mom's colorful arm tattoo, add comfort and, for many, familiarity to this welcome and unconventional family story.

Kirkus Reviews (Fri Oct 04 00:00:00 CDT 2024)

A fair-skinned, freckle-spattered mom and her brown-skinned, dark-haired daughter each feel the nervousness that comes with approaching a new experience.In a remarkably sparse text-sentences are often single words and only twice more than three words in length-the pair's story unfolds side by side. Daughter is a plucky pitcher out to prove herself and improve her skills on the baseball field. Mom is a tenacious mason looking to secure a new job and execute it with excellence. Both are fiercely hardworking and determined, emphasized through the use of minimal words and the illustrations' focus on the tasks at hand. After each secures her position, the bulk of the story depicts the daily grind required to reach her goal. Between pages of work, softly textured cartoons show mom and daughter taking respite at home, where it is just the two of them and their cat. While there is much to be done and each is tired at the end of the long days, there is no sense of struggle implied; empowerment abounds. The graphic-novel illustration style, in which windows of alternating action move the storyline forward, adds to the feeling that this duo of everyday heroines is unstoppable.A celebration of female perseverance and success: brava! (Picture book. 4-9)

Publishers Weekly (Fri Oct 06 00:00:00 CDT 2023)

In this rhythmic celebration of family and self-reliance, a mother and daughter embark from their shared home into parallel story arcs-the single parent begins a bricklaying job, while the child joins a baseball team. Tate conveys the duo-s journeys in analogous staccato lists (-Cap. Glove. Shoes- for the girl; -Gloves. Goggles. Boots- for her mom), offering each undertaking equal importance and underlining the idea that small steps and practice (-Catch./ Toss./ Grin- at the ballpark; -Butter./ Scrape./ Smooth- on the job site) can meaningfully accumulate. Kath-s pastel and watercolor illustrations enliven the text, with vibrant, nostalgic-style panels that align the two narratives. A full spread of the girl pitching (-Straight. Fast. Strong-), the mother-s level achieving an even plane underneath, stands out, and a celebratory end-of-book ice cream date connects the independent duo back to their shared love for each other. This picture book unobtrusively featuring women in nontraditional roles empowers, as does its message of teamwork and support. Ages 4-8. (Mar.)

School Library Journal (Sun Mar 01 00:00:00 CST 2020)

PreS-Gr 2 Told mostly with illustrations, this is a story of a mom and daughter who are both entering male-dominated fields. The daughter, who has light brown skin and long black-and-purple hair, is trying out for a boy's baseball team. The pale-skinned, freckled, and tattooed mom is beginning a job as a bricklayer. Mother and daughter receive simultaneous callbacks after their stressful day of "tryouts." They both work hard and are triumphant. One spread shows the girl's progressive pitching form at the top of both pages. The artwork blossoms from a rough sketch of her pitch wind-up to full-color detail when she releases the ball. On the bottom of this same spread, the mother's level is underlining the action. The level's bubble is perfectly centered. The sparse text, "Straight. Fast. Strong," on this page and similar well-chosen words on all the other pages make this story effective and delightful. VERDICT This is an appealing story with a simple message of equality, as mother and daughter challenge gender stereotypes on the baseball field and on a construction project. The artist's portrayal of the pair's very different physical appearances is a matter-of-fact nod to diverse families.Elaine Fultz, Oakwood City Schools, Dayton