Parents' Choice Awards : Books : Poetry
Good Sports
Spring 2007 Poetry
Ages: 4 - 8 yrs.
Author: Jack Prelutsky
Illustrator: Chris Raschka
Publisher: Random House Children's Books/Knopf
ISBN: 978-0-375-83700-5
Hardcover Price: $16.99
Review:
With a cheerful poem about almost every sport that children love, the poet captures the pride of success, the disappointment of failure, and the sheer fun of participation. The child who is not a natural born swimmer can identify with one of two poems about swimming that ends:
“When it comes to swimming,
I'm clearly a dunce.
But still I enjoy it
And happily think
I don't do so badly...
At least I don't sink!”
The untitled poems are exuberant without being unrealistic, understanding without being patronizing. They are simply great fun. The illustrations are a stunning foil for the text. The artist elongates the limbs of his loose characters with his signature broad, sweeping watercolor brushstrokes giving the illusion of motion. His palette of olives, blues, and oranges depict children in motion across the white backgrounds of double–page spreads. A discriminating combination of poet and artist.
Kemie Nix ©2007 Parents' Choice
Kemie Nix is Chairman of Children's Literature for Children (CLC), a non-profit, tax-exempt, educational organization dedicated to bringing children and books together. Mrs. Nix, a senior book editor for Parents' Choice, has a remarkable sense of selecting books children love to read.
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