by Tomie dePaola & illustrated by Tomie dePaola ‧ RELEASE DATE: Feb. 1, 2005
DePaola recounts another anecdote from his childhood in this school story that explores the concept of “stealing the show.” The main character, Tommy, is very interested in dancing and acting, and he hopes to be cast as Peter Rabbit in the class play. When he’s cast instead in a minor role as Mopsy the rabbit sibling, he upstages everyone during the performance, earning lots of laughs and applause, but displeasing his mom and teacher. Tommy has to apologize to his teacher and to the boy who played Peter Rabbit, but he can’t forget the laughter and applause and can’t wait for his next performance opportunity. Teachers putting on classroom plays of their own will find this story useful, both for its thoughtful exploration of appropriate behavior on stage and for a general introduction to the theatrical experience. As in DePaola’s other stories that incorporate his childhood memories, this classroom is a peek back into an earlier time, with boys in knickers and girls in dresses and hair bows, but the emotions of a budding thespian remain the same. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: Feb. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-399-24338-0
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Putnam
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2005
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by Cheryl B. Klein ; illustrated by Tomie dePaola
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by Chris Paul ; illustrated by Courtney Lovett ‧ RELEASE DATE: Jan. 10, 2023
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses.
An NBA star pays tribute to the influence of his grandfather.
In the same vein as his Long Shot (2009), illustrated by Frank Morrison, this latest from Paul prioritizes values and character: “My granddad Papa Chilly had dreams that came true,” he writes, “so maybe if I listen and watch him, / mine will too.” So it is that the wide-eyed Black child in the simply drawn illustrations rises early to get to the playground hoops before anyone else, watches his elder working hard and respecting others, hears him cheering along with the rest of the family from the stands during games, and recalls in a prose afterword that his grandfather wasn’t one to lecture but taught by example. Paul mentions in both the text and the backmatter that Papa Chilly was the first African American to own a service station in North Carolina (his presumed dream) but not that he was killed in a robbery, which has the effect of keeping the overall tone positive and the instructional content one-dimensional. Figures in the pictures are mostly dark-skinned. (This book was reviewed digitally.)
Blandly inspirational fare made to evoke equally shrink-wrapped responses. (Picture book. 6-8)Pub Date: Jan. 10, 2023
ISBN: 978-1-250-81003-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Roaring Brook Press
Review Posted Online: Sept. 27, 2022
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2022
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by Chris Paul & illustrated by Frank Morrison
by Lisa Bowes ; illustrated by James Hearne ‧ RELEASE DATE: Sept. 3, 2019
It’s a slam dunk
Lucy discovers that the way to learn to play basketball is with friends on a neighborhood court.
Lucy loves playing in the park, and one day she and her friends join their friend Ava and her cousin in their new favorite sport: basketball. Pro player Jermaine, aka “Coach J,” teaches all the basics—footwork, quick passes, dribbling, and a variety of shots. But he also encourages the players to keep trying when they miss, stresses the value of teamwork, and focuses on fun as they learn and later play a practice game. At the end of the workout, Coach J invites the young players to watch him and his team play. Written in loose rhyming couplets, the text has many near rhymes and inconsistent meter. While the storyline is predictable, the book is a good introduction to basketball terms, and young basketball players and fans will appreciate reading about themselves. Vivid silhouetted figures against a white background portray male and female players of several races; Lucy herself is white while Ava and Coach J are black. One young player competes from a wheelchair. A half page of backmatter explains the history of basketball, the NBA and its players, and wheelchair basketball, and one entry also explains the three-on-three basketball that the children play. The book publishes in a simultaneous French edition translated by Rachel Martinez.
It’s a slam dunk . (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: Sept. 3, 2019
ISBN: 978-1-4598-1697-8
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Orca
Review Posted Online: May 7, 2019
Kirkus Reviews Issue: June 1, 2019
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by Lisa Bowes ; illustrated by James Hearne
by Lisa Bowes ; illustrated by James Hearne
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