There’s more than basketball to this charming story set in Mexico. Young Gustavo (Tavo) lives to play the game, even though he has a hard time in his falling-apart sneakers. When his father enlists his help in revitalizing the old irrigation ditches during a summer of drought, Tavo sadly has little time to play. The hard work of ditch digging, however, does bring water from the mountains to the parched fields, and salvages both the corn crop and his father’s reputation. Tavo loses his shoes, now in pieces, in the swiftly flowing water, effectively ending his basketball playing. However, a kind deed to an old woman we never see (a bruja—witch—perhaps?) results in the recovery of the shoes, now refurbished and infused with mysterious energy. Gloriously quilted (a future fashion trend?), the dazzling shoes and the muscle Tavo has acquired digging the ditches give his basketball game new power. The colorful, impressionistic illustrations are full of movement and feeling. Bravo, Tavo, indeed. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2007
ISBN: 978-0-525-47478-4
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Dutton
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2007
BOOK REVIEW
A heartfelt forward pass from one generation to the next (and the next).
A pigskin-themed paean to family and family traditions.
As images depict a football-shaped newborn growing up, marrying, and helping to produce another—the second actually dressed in a football onesie, which is adorable—sports podcaster Holloway notes rookie season fumbles and triumphs, team huddles on the sofa to watch the big games, the passage of quarters and seasons, and major life events (like the wedding: “One day you may get drafted / To a franchise of your own”). All the while, Holloway promises to cheer from the sidelines in victory or defeat, to be there when needed, and to give each “wonderful expansion / of our football family” both a welcome and proper coaching. The family in Jang’s shiny, reasonably realistic illustrations includes three children. The verse’s language is nonspecific enough to apply to offspring of any gender as well as adoptees. In school settings and on playing fields of several sorts, the child, at various ages, light-skinned like their parents, joins a diverse group of peers, including one wearing a hijab and another who uses a hearing aid, while the child’s own family includes a dark-skinned sibling and, by the end, a child with, like their spouse, Asian features. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A heartfelt forward pass from one generation to the next (and the next). (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Aug. 30, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-250-84715-7
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: May 10, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2022
Is great hitting in the clean, natural swing of the batter—or the perfectly balanced feel of the bat? As kids know when they start playing baseball, small details must converge just right to overcome the edge between winning and losing, hitting and striking out. Sometimes this translates into superstitions or quirky behavior. First-time author Bildner toes this question in the quirks of Shoeless Joe Jackson and his feared bat, Black Betsy. Joe, who played in the major leagues from 1908 to 1920, does well in the minor leagues, but can’t seem to move up without the help of his South Carolina friend, the great bat-maker Charlie Ferguson. While Charlie knows how to make the best bat, it’s not hard to decide which needs tweaking more, the bat or Joe’s mind so he can finally realize his great potential. From Joe sleeping with the bat to his wrapping it in the cotton of his southern roots, Bildner sticks mostly to the main facts and resists a romanticization of the game. Players who know the perfect, sweeping amalgamation of hand, eye, and sweet spot might expect to hear its dramatic tenor when Joe cracks the ball with Black Betsy, but this is a story finished by statistics. Payne’s (Brave Harriet, p. 944, etc.) mixed-media illustrations are gorgeous: the fuzz is in the flannel and the light is just right. And so are his perspectives, angles, and other compositional choices that make for the right mix of mystery and narrative to draw the reader in. A lengthy synopsis of Joe’s entire career and his statistics are appended. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-689-82913-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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