A Ball for Daisy
A Ball for Daisy
by: Chris Raschka
Schwartz & Wade Books
Ages: 3 and up
2011
The summary: Daisy is a dog with a ball, and life could not be better. There are games of chase, cuddle times on the couch, and walks in the park; however, tragedy strikes when Daisy’s ball bursts (literally). Daisy is pretty depressed, until she receives a present from an unexpected friend.
The good: This is a delightful story. Daisy is the quintessential dog who loves to play, play, play. Chris Raschka (author/illustrator of the 2006 Caldecott winner, “Hello, Goodbye Window”) tells a story of a dog who loves a ball, and does so entirely through pictures…aka: no words. Sometimes these types of books make me nervous because they can be difficult to ‘read’ aloud to kids; however, Raschka’s watercolor illustrations are playful, fun, and make telling the story a piece of cake. In fact, this is a story that can be told collaboratively. Let the kids tell you what Daisy is doing in a picture and how Daisy feels in another. The flow of the story does get a little confusing when the format of the illustrations switch from page to page. For example, sometimes there is a picture for each page and sometimes the picture goes across both pages. I had to re-read a few pages the first time because I got a little confused on the order of the pictures, but this is a small issue, and you should not be deterred from checking this book out from your local library. This is a story worth reading and telling.
Rating: 7 (Couldn’t put it down)
Up next: ”Balloons Over Broadway: the true story of the puppeteer of Macy’s Parade” by Melissa Sweet.
Filed under: Mock Caldecott
