Barefoot Skateboarders

In this nonfiction picture book, the tiny village of Janwaar in Madhya Pradesh, India, gets a new skatepark, which inspires Ramkesh and all the local kids to learn how to skateboard, putting them on the map and uniting their community.



The remote village of Janwaar in Northern India has been the same for a long time, with the community strictly divided into castes. It's a quiet village… until the construction project begins.



Ramkesh can't tell what it will be—it's all ramps and hills. When it's done, he sees kids playing on it, on strange boards with wheels... Soon, he's invited to try, and he's hooked—practicing tricks and soaring on his skateboard. At first, it's all boys, but Ramkesh invites his sister, and other girls join too. Word gets out that the tiny village is a hotbed of skateboarding talent, and people flock from all over to see it, and to teach the kids new tricks. Ramkesh and his friends even get invited to travel, gaining the first-ever passports for their village. But most important, they come back home to tell of their journeys...and to lead the way for Janwaar into the future, with a newfound sense of joy and unity.