Review Detail

Gymnastica Fantastica! by Briony Stewart is an engaging picture book that will captivate young readers. Gymnastica is a young person who loves to leap, twirl, jump, and perform all their gymnastic moves for their dog. Gymnastica may not always nail their moves (a.k.a. wobbly headstands and hula-hoop fiascos), but they make up for it with a positive attitude and the belief that they are great at gymnastics.

What I liked: The rhyming text makes this the perfect book to read with young readers. The illustrations are brightly colored and just capture the energy of the story so well. Gymnastica is always on the move, and that is evident in the illustrations. I love the positive message in this book about trying hard and, more importantly, having fun while doing it.

What Left Me Wanting More: I read this to my Kindergarten class, who had a lot of questions on the gender of Gymnastica. The author doesn’t give them a gender, and the illustrations are ambiguous, so I understand why they were confused. I told my students that both boys and girls can do gymnastics, so it was up to them to decide. Instead of focusing on the storyline and positive message in the book, they became more focused on the gender of the character, which I feel took away from the enjoyment of the story.

Gymnastica Fantastica! is a vibrant picture book that will inspire readers to try something new and have fun trying.