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
What if the market was closed when you wanted to bake a pie? You could embark for Europe, learn Italian en route, and pick up some semolina wheat in Italy, an egg in France, kurundu bark for cinnamon in Sri Lanka, and an entire cow in England (butter) before coming home via Jamaica (sugar) and Vermont (apples). The expertly designed illustrations in which a dark-haired lass journeys by various means to these interesting places to get her groceries are lovely and lively, and the narrative, too, travels at a spritely pace. The journey is neither quite logical enough to be truly informative nor quite bizarre enough to be satisfyingly silly, while the rich, sweet recipe that's appended will take some adult assistance. Still, fun. (Picture book. 4-8)
Pub Date: May 2, 1994
ISBN: 0-679-83705-1
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Knopf
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 1994
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift.
A paean to teachers and their surrogates everywhere.
This gentle ode to a teacher’s skill at inspiring, encouraging, and being a role model is spoken, presumably, from a child’s viewpoint. However, the voice could equally be that of an adult, because who can’t look back upon teachers or other early mentors who gave of themselves and offered their pupils so much? Indeed, some of the self-aware, self-assured expressions herein seem perhaps more realistic as uttered from one who’s already grown. Alternatively, readers won’t fail to note that this small book, illustrated with gentle soy-ink drawings and featuring an adult-child bear duo engaged in various sedentary and lively pursuits, could just as easily be about human parent- (or grandparent-) child pairs: some of the softly colored illustrations depict scenarios that are more likely to occur within a home and/or other family-oriented setting. Makes sense: aren’t parents and other close family members children’s first teachers? This duality suggests that the book might be best shared one-on-one between a nostalgic adult and a child who’s developed some self-confidence, having learned a thing or two from a parent, grandparent, older relative, or classroom instructor.
A sweet, soft conversation starter and a charming gift. (Picture book. 4-7)Pub Date: March 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-943200-08-5
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Compendium
Review Posted Online: Dec. 13, 2016
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 1, 2017
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