An often charming kids’ book that provides a model for family engagement in girls’ sports.
This picture book aims to inspire young children with its story of a young girl who turns her dream into reality through hard work.
Mackey’s debut effort centers on Sally, an athletic girl growing up in an athletic family for which biking, running and swimming are the stuff of summer vacation. “If you can dream it…and if you work hard at it…you can do whatever you set your mind to do,” her mother tells her. Sally’s dream unfolds step by step: She first joins the same swim team as her brother, Ryan, and bikes to swim practice with him and their mother. Ryan also runs, so Sally does too. Then her mother participates in a triathlon—a sport that incorporates swimming, biking and running—and this inspires Sally to try to run the race herself. After a summer of practice, Sally and her best friend, Cindy, finally tackle the triathlon. With her family watching, Sally wins her first triathlon “Finisher” medal; Cindy gets one, as well. The two girls aren’t competitive with each other, however; they end the book by saying, “There is no one I would rather race with than you!” This picture book differs from others in that its main character is slightly older than its target audience, presenting to readers possibilities that are currently beyond their capabilities. It also shows young people that such dreams are not beyond hope. The visually appealing text uses a typeface that’s similar to hand-printing, and the simple sentences and repetition are clearly aimed at a young audience. The illustrations appear to combine watercolor, ink and marker to create a bright, fresh look. However, on some pages, the characters shown don’t appear to match the people mentioned in the text; on others, Sally’s brother and her father look extremely similar, and Sally’s mother looks like a teenager, which may confuse young readers. Some parents may also wish that Sally had a bookshelf in her bedroom.
An often charming kids’ book that provides a model for family engagement in girls’ sports.Pub Date: Aug. 29, 2013
ISBN: 978-1483667591
Page Count: 42
Publisher: Xlibris
Review Posted Online: June 4, 2014
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)
Pub Date: May 1, 2011
ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Clarion Books
Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-689-83271-0
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2001
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