2025

When I was a kid I loved school, my teachers and my classroom. But sometimes I would just hit that wall. And sometimes I would see my classmates a little droopy too. This book will fix that.*

*Your results may vary.

—Lane

A JUNIOR LIBRARY GUILD Selection

A KIRKUS Best Picture Book of 2025

A BANK STREET Best Children’s Book of 2026

★ STARRED

Wilder than any rumpus, this recess isn’t just a break—it’s silliness incarnate!

Kirkus Reviews

★ STARRED

It's actually not about your standard outdoor recess at all. Instead, it's about the little breaks that students so desperately need in the middle of class...

Bookpage

★ STARRED

Underneath all the antics, the story honors children’s need to move, laugh, and be momentarily wild, even within the structure of the school day. A high-energy, high-participation read, tailor-made for storytime, that joyfully affirms play as essential, not extra, and is likely to become a classroom favorite.

The Horn Book

★ STARRED

So it is, with repeated typographic bellows of “RECESS!” [Smith] urges young learners to shake their booties, speed type on air keyboards, throw invisible balls around, and even (with the added irresistible incentive that it “feels way inappropriate” in a “non-cafeteria environment”) shout “Bananas!” as loudly as possible.

School Library Journal

This is tailor-made for a classroom storytime, and, fortunately for the adult reader, closes with some gentle downtime in the calm down corner.

BCCB

Mixed-media artwork that brings to mind Paul Klee in the throes of a sugar high combines with unleashed typography to offer a recess prescription for every academic scenario.

Publishers Weekly

Enter this ode to the joy of mixing it up!

Booklist