Skipping to Sammy’s Beat
By Coral Vass and Blithe Fielden
Reviewed by Sandhya Parappukkaran
Skipping to Sammy’s Beat is a bright and spirted picture book about being brave enough to follow your own path. Coral Vass is an award-winning children’s author with numerous books for children published over a career spanning more than 10 years. Blithe Fielden is a Brisbane based illustrator whose gorgeous artwork is vibrant and playful and has a quality that will make anyone want to pick up the book and flick through it.
In Skipping to Sammy’s Beat, 4-year-old Sammy loves to dance. Young Sammy listens to her own beat and is perfectly happy being her own unique self.
A year later, Sammy’s a bit more grown up but still loves her tutu and dancing. However, her friends have all changed. Suddenly, all the things Sammy used to love now feel childish. When Sammy stops dancing, the beat that used to guide her grows quiet, and now she can’t hear it anymore, making her sad and withdrawn. It’s not until a special encounter with a dragonfly that Sammy finds the courage to embrace everything that makes her unique again.
Vass’s lively text is peppered with action verbs and works well for a gathered story time read aloud or a one-on-one reading. The story comes alive in Fielden’s vibrant artwork with lots of movement and interesting details to pore over in the pages, including Sammy’s little dog who is by her side throughout the story. To me, the characters facial expressions were particularly notable which will provide ample discussion points for observant readers as they follow Sammy’s journey.
Skipping to Sammy’s Beat is a sweet story that will instil in young readers the courage to forge their own path and also shows that a group of friends can indeed love different things.
New Frontier Publishing 2026
Sandhya Parappukkaran is the author of award winning picture books including, The Boy Who Tried to Shrink His Name (Notable book, winner of the 2022 CBCA Book of the Year New Illustrator Award and a finalist in the QLD Premier’s Literary Awards), Amma’s Sari (2023 CBCA Notable book and a finalist in the 2023 NSW Premier’s Literary Award), Stay for Dinner (winner 2024 NSW Premier’s Multicultural Literary Award) and her latest, Words That Taste Like Home.
