CLOTHESLINE CLUES TO SPORTS PEOPLE PLAY

Moving from jobs (Clothesline Clue to Jobs People Do, 2012) to sports, Helig, Hembrook, and Davies keep children guessing.

“High on the clotheslines / the clues swing and sway. / Who uses these things / for the sports that they play?” Seven clotheslines hold clothing and sometimes equipment (not all of which is typically washed), with more underneath the line or propped against the uprights. Pinstriped pants and shirt, a cap, and a glove hang above a bat, bases, and a ball. Readers guess and then turn the page for the reveal: “He plays baseball.” (Boston fans beware: the pinstripes are paired with red socks.) With a nod to diversity, the men fence and play baseball and football. Women play soccer, tennis, and basketball and do archery. An inquisitive (and sometimes mischievous) squirrel appears on every clothesline page, and the reveals always show a glimpse of the school bus from the title page. It all comes full circle at the end when the children try out these sports during Sports Day at school. The rhythms and rhymes are solid, and the verses nicely incorporate the vocabulary for the equipment and clothing used. Skin tones are a mix of peach and browns, but all the people are able-bodied. Too, the women tend to pair up with girls and the men with boys.

A nifty, participatory way to introduce sports to young children.