by James Preller & illustrated by Matthew Cordell ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2009
As a writer of verse, Preller, author of Six Innings (2008), makes an excellent prose novelist. His rhymed tale of a Little League nonhitter who lights a fire in his team of total losers shows plenty of heart, if shaky scansion. Winless for the season and trailing five-zip in the first inning, it looks like just another long day for the Delmar Dogs—“Omar scraped a knee; / grape juice spilled on Lapinski’s shoe; / Ronald the runt had to pee, / and figured left field would do”—but with urging from no-hit, no-field Casey (a lefty, as it happens), the team puts on a rally, and it’s Casey’s hit with the bases loaded that brings victory within grasp. Cordell’s simply drawn cartoons of geeky, distracted children sporting oversized batting helmets suit this lightweight remake of a certain famous baseball ballad, and if the author doesn’t quite recapture the original’s tone or suspense (or ending), he may get young readers and their parents who take the game a little too seriously to lighten up a touch. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2009
ISBN: 978-0-312-36764-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2009
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by Frank Morrison ; illustrated by Frank Morrison ‧ RELEASE DATE: April 19, 2022
An important reminder that, in the quest for friendship, who you truly are is more than enough.
Ivan, a young Black boy with a big, beautiful Afro, is such a skilled street skater that his friends have nicknamed him Epic.
When he and his family move to a new inner-city neighborhood, for the first time he finds himself without a clique to cheer him on or learn new skating stunts from. “You never landed a new trick on the first try,” his dad reminds him. “Keep an open mind, and you’ll meet new friends.” In an attempt to fit in with the neighborhood kids, Epic tries his hand at various other sports without success. Seeing his discouragement, his parents suggest that he skate down to the bodega for a treat. On his way there, Epic performs a scintillating series of skateboarding maneuvers, unaware that several kids of various ages are observing him with great interest. Only when he arrives at the bodega does he realize that he’s unwittingly found himself a new skating crew. Morrison’s upbeat narrative slides along smoothly, mirroring the energy and panache of its protagonist, and at times slips comfortably into African American Vernacular English. Skateboarding terminology is scattered liberally throughout the text, but readers unfamiliar with the jargon will feel the lack of a glossary. Morrison's illustrations—rendered in oil with their trademark graffiti-inspired, urban mannerist style—use interesting perspectives, silhouetting, and continuous narration to create a free-wheeling sense of Epic’s, well, epicness. Most characters are Black; a few illustrations include diverse representation.
An important reminder that, in the quest for friendship, who you truly are is more than enough. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: April 19, 2022
ISBN: 978-1-5476-0592-7
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Review Posted Online: Dec. 15, 2021
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2022
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by Andy Holloway ; illustrated by Honee Jang ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 30, 2022
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
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