Pleasant fare for scheduled children.
To ballet or to baseball? What’s a girl to do?
Nini loves ballet and her ballet outfits. Unfortunately, as her mother reminds her, it is time for baseball and her baseball uniform. Nini does not like anything about baseball—not her glove and not the field. The illustrations demonstrate her passive resistance in amusing vignettes that depict her practicing ballet moves, looking up at the sky, and flopped on the grass, a thoroughly ignored baseball next to her in each one. Her coach and her teammates remind her that baseball is a team sport and that everyone has to do their “best.” Then the coach has a little heart-to-heart with Nini about how ballet practice can improve performance on the baseball field. At the next game, her team is leading, but then an opposing player hits the ball into the outfield, where Nini and her glove are waiting. Yes, it is a perfect ending for a baseball player who knows how to plié and hold her glove in the right spot at the right time. Nini, who has light-brown skin and fluffy brown hair, shares her round face and button eyes with all the other children, who are a mix of colors. The softly focused line-and-color illustrations highlight the yellow-and-blue baseball uniforms and the green baseball field.
Pleasant fare for scheduled children. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Feb. 25, 2020
ISBN: 978-1-58089-939-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Charlesbridge
Review Posted Online: Nov. 23, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2019
A positive boost from a strong role model.
NBA legend Curry draws from his own childhood experiences to tell the story of an aspiring basketball player with a hidden ability.
Eight-year-old Hughes isn’t going to tell everyone what his superpower is—he’s going to show them, and he wants to teach readers how to use theirs, too. On his way to the basketball court, Hughes discusses how he discovered his power: First, his mom told him about it, and then his coach told him, too. Dressed in his tank top and shorts, Hughes arrives at the basketball court ready for action. He watches the tallest kids and the fastest kids get picked first for teams. But Hughes’ superpower isn’t one that he was born with, nor is it one that he picked up quickly—it took months of practice. His is a power that can be applied to any passion: his heart. Bowers’ energetic, cartoonlike illustrations work well with the comic-style narration: A Black television announcer on a screen appears on each page, prompting Hughes to share his story, which appears in speech bubbles. This dual narration makes for a dynamic presentation of the overt message, which many children need to hear. A diverse cast of characters surround Hughes, who is brown-skinned (one of his parents presents Black; the other is tan-skinned). Curry appears on the final spread, telling readers that he didn’t let discouraging comments stop him from playing the game that he loves. He invites readers to go back through the book and find a list of his favorite things hidden in the images throughout. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
A positive boost from a strong role model. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Sept. 6, 2022
ISBN: 978-0-593-38604-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Penguin Workshop
Review Posted Online: July 12, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 2022
BOOK REVIEW
PERSPECTIVES
At least one fan’s dreams will be of the gridiron.
The excitement of a family’s trip to a football game segues into a Goodnight Moon–like list of goodnights, ending with the young boy in bed, asleep, football tucked under his arm.
At the end of the week, an African-American couple and their two children—a boy and a girl—enjoy a night at the stadium under the lights. The coats, hats and scarves worn by this group of racially diverse fans and the blankets and hot drinks they hold mark football as a fall sport. All the sights and sounds of a big game are here, from the cheerleaders and the band to the mascot and the concession stand. The parts of the story describing the action of the game are exciting, but they may be mystifying to those who are unfamiliar with the sport: “On third and one, the ball is snapped. / But the defense breaks through, and the quarterback’s sacked!” As their Grizzlies win the game, the boy and his family begin the trek out to the car, saying goodnight to all as they pass: the players and coaches, bleachers, fans, goalposts, even the moon. Much is evident from the small details: the family’s love for one another, the good sportsmanship on display on the field and the boy’s passion for football. Although the scansion is spotty and the illustrations pedestrian, there are so few football-themed picture books on the shelves already that this is worth a look.
At least one fan’s dreams will be of the gridiron. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2014
ISBN: 978-1-62370-106-2
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Capstone Young Readers
Review Posted Online: June 3, 2014
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 15, 2014
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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