Hut! Hut! Hike!: A Branches Book

Gr 3-5–Jasper longs to be a football star, with his exploits broadcast by the announcer voice he imagines in his head. When pals Mo and Ruby join the age nine-and-under community flag football team, Jasper joins too, excited but also worried that he won’t be as good on the field as he is in his imagination. But with support from Mo and Ruby, Jasper makes a big play and helps the team win its first game. Aimed at newly independent readers, the book is thoughtfully designed, with a simple storyline, short chapters and generous white space between lines. The book is heavily illustrated, with art on every page. The narrative is enhanced by insets featuring facts about the NFL—rules, jargon, history, and famous players. Jasper is illustrated as white; the rest of the characters reflect diverse ethnicities. The book incorporates a variety of underrepresented communities, some more seamlessly integrated than others. It’s an unfortunate contradiction that the physical appearance of the team’s coach is somewhat disparagingly described (he’s said to have “the tall, chubby look of a former football player”).