Sidewalk Chalk is pure sunshine in book form! ☀️🖍️ The illustrations by Lea Marie Ravotti are absolutely stunning—bright, whimsical, and full of life.

This book took me right back to those carefree summer days when all the neighborhood kids would gather and turn the sidewalk into our own storytelling stage. There were no limits—just chalk, creativity, and endless imagination.

I loved all the onomatopoeias sprinkled throughout—I couldn’t help but say them out loud (with dramatic flair, obviously). Kids are going to have so much fun with this one, and grown-ups? Prepare to smile the whole way through.

Big thanks to NetGalley and Gnome Road Publishing for the ARC! This book is a total joy. 💛📚

With a bucket of chalk, everyone draws and the neighborhood is made beautiful before and after it rains. A fun book filled with simple words and drawings.
The illustrations by Lea Marie Ravotti are simple, colorful, and fun.
Well suited for reading WITH someone of any age including ESL, and great for gifting to everyone, but especially to a school, waiting room or your local public library! Pub Date Sep 23, 2025
I requested and received a temporary uncorrected galley proof from Gnome Road Publishing via NetGalley. ***** review #goodreads #storygraph #NetGalley #librarything @waterstones #NetGalley #SidewalkChalk by @jenfierjasinski and illustrated by @leamarieravotti @gnomeroadpublishing #KidsBookstagram #kidlit #RaiseAReader #childrensbookillustration #fun @childrensbookcouncil #bookshop_org #bookshop_org_uk @indigo #picturebooks #kidsbooks #drawingwithchalk

With minimal words and colorful illustrations, the author and illustrator have joined forces to help a young, shy girl come out of her shell and join the other kids, thereby creating a warm welcome for other new arrivals in their neighborhood.

I will be totally honest, I decided to read this because I loved the cover, and I love sidewalk chalk. I was not disappointed. It was adorable. I love love love the art. It is gorgeous. The story was simple but meaningful. Also a great addition to chalk storytime.

Thanks to NetGalley and Gnome Road Publishing for the ARC of this one. This was not something I expected but I loved the fun sound and action words, along with the bright and beautiful illustrations.

Thank you to Gnome Road Publishing for sending me this ARC! I would like to thank the author, Jen Fier Jasinski, as well as the illustrator, Lea Marie Ravotti, for the hard work they put into this book. Lastly, thank you to NetGalley for making my request for this ARC possible.


Lets get into this review. Sidewalk Chalk is a children’s book about the joy of using chalk to create pretty and colorful art in your neighborhood. Our main character is a shy little girl who wants to join in on the fun, but she is too nervous, until a friend shows her how to draw with a rock. Unfortunately, their fun gets cut short when the rain comes and they all must go home. But the next day, our shy girl grows brave and helps her friends welcome a new kid into their community!

The messaging here is really great. It could help shy kids come out of their shell, as well as show the wonders of creativity. Artistic kids will find a lot of inspiration and also get them to collaborate with their peers more.

In this book, there’s a lot of alliteration and onomatopoeia. This makes for a really fun and silly read-a-loud experience. Teachers and librarians should absolutely consider this as the next book they read to their students or patrons.

The illustrations are super bright and colorful, too. Tons of different colors burst all over the page. The drawings the children create are sure to appeal to kids as well as parents and guardians.


All in all, this is a very fun little book that I can’t wait to buy and read for my future children. If this sounds like something you are interested in, the book will be available starting September 23rd, 2025. Here is the publisher website. I hope you all enjoy!

A story told in very few words but takes you through many emotions with it's brightly colored illustrations. This story would be perfect as a board book for toddler aged children.

This is a simple book for ages zero to five that has vibrant coloring drawings. This book will definitely catch curious children's eyes and the simple text will encourage children to try and read along with their caregivers!

My four kids and I have read this book every night for weeks. It is absolutely darling! They can’t get enough of it.

I received an electronic ARC from Gnome Road Publishing through NetGalley.
I love the onomatopoeia used to tell this story. Jasinski shares the entire book using words readers can hear. The brightly colored illustrations capture the joy and art created by these kids. When rain washes away their designs, they gather again the next day to draw some more. At this point, readers see a shy child lead the way to making a new neighbor feel welcome. I wish this part of the story had been clearer to match the blurb. Some young readers may miss the nuances. However, this won't stop them from appreciating the joy shared in this story.

This book is very colorful. I also thought the message of including others way good. It also teaches about starting over again when something happens and to try out new ideas. This could be a good book for teachers to use for social emotional learning or confidence building.

Beautiful book, with splendid illustrations but honestly for me I would have liked it better with more sentences rather than just words.

Still the illustrations are on another level of beautiful

Thank you NetGallery and Gnome Road Publishing for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Light, short story of community and finding one's place in the group. A lyrical text with few words (would be great for an onomatopoeia lesson) with much of the story told through the pictures. With so few words, it might be hard for a read aloud, but I could see a lot of our early readers enjoying listening to it and then reading it independently. The pictures are pretty and would likely inspire fun, collaborative chalk art among readers.

Sidewalk Chalk by Jen Fier Jasinski, illustrated by Lea Marie Ravotti, is a rhyming picture book celebrating creativity, community, and chalk art. The story follows a shy girl who wants to join neighborhood kids in creating colorful drawings. Jasinski's lyrical text captures imagination and collaboration for young children but may not appeal to those over 5 due to its simplicity and short length.
The illustrations are detailed and complement the concept of transforming sidewalks into narrative landscapes. The book explores the idea of finding one's place in a group and includes references to the protagonist’s emotional experiences. Suitable for parents and teachers promoting outdoor play and creativity, this book can be a valuable addition to any picture book collection. Thank you NetGalley for this advanced ARC for an honest review.
I would give this book a solid 3.5/5

This was a cute book. The illustrations are beautiful and they carry the book. There are key words used as text, but the story is really told through the pictures. Would recommend.

Fun, summery book! I like that it's not very text dense, and the illustrations are wonderful. It would a great book to read before any sort of summer kick off chalk event. The story is not very explicit through the prose, but the illustrations do a great job conveying this familiar summer experience.

I really enjoyed this book! I loved how it told more than one story, making it a book that both young and older readers will enjoy. This book would also lend itself well to being an instructional tool for teaching imagery and onomatopoeia.

My seven year old fell in love with the story from the start and was able to read the story to herself. We reread it several times already. Definitely adding to our personal shelves soon!

Delightful and vibrantly colored.. The simple text and illustrations really captures that moment in childhood. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for letting me read!

This is a great book for early readers in a Level 1-2 Reading or Pre-School age. The words are written large enough and easily found on each page with different colors. The story is laid out enough that the reader can understand the imagery well enough even without being able to read just quite yet.

The words are simple onomatopoeia words that are fun are sounding and help young readers try out new vowel combinations. Teachers will find this easy to be able to ask questions about using the pictures to help guide students through the children’s play and emotions.

Definitely a fun and enjoyable read that may be used to also incorporate play time with chalk; with the understanding it is not permanent; as an extended activity.