Review by New York Times Review
While tens of millions of viewers around the world are following the World Cup on television, the young boys in "Goal!" play a pickup game in a South African township that even more powerfully conveys a passion for "football." The boys play joyously in an alley (Ford's illustrations are brightly expressive, amid the dusty scene), while one keeps watch: "The streets are not safe," and the soccer ball is their prized possession. Sure enough, a meanlooking gang shows up to steal it, but this time the young players come out winners. THE VERY FAIRY PRINCESS By Julie Andrews and Emma Walton Hamilton. Illustrated by Christine Davenier. Little, Brown. $16.99. (Ages 3 to 6) Among all the princess picture books, this new one from Andrews and Hamilton - a mother-daughter team - offers a refreshingly different definition of "sparkle": Geraldine tells us she does "everything that fairy princesses do," including sliding down banisters and running for the bus ("scabs are the price you pay"). The message is that working hard in class, and sometimes getting a little carried away, can be part of being a princess too. THE HIVE DETECTIVES Chronicle of a Honey Bee Catastrophe. By Loree Griffin Burns. Photographs by Ellen Harasimowicz. Houghton Mifflin. $18. (Ages 10 and up) In this new volume from the excellent "Scientists in the Field" series, Burns takes up the case of a die-off of millions of honey bees in 2006. As a commercial beekeeper explains, the concern about bees is not abstract - "Your food supply depends on them"; beekeepers transport hives to Florida and California to help pollinate fruit trees. The mystery is not completely solved here (the culprit could have been a virus, pesticides or large-scale beekeeping itself), but the potential risk is clear. A FABULOUS FAIR ALPHABET Written and illustrated by Debra Frasier. Beach Lane Books. $16.99. (All ages) This brightly painted and collaged ABC is also a homage to state fairs everywhere: "C" is for candy (in neon lights, red-and-white-striped and pink-puffed), and "W" is for an arcade win, milk bottles flying. Some letters are a little too hard to make out ("outstanding," for prize-winning cakes and pies, takes close study), and that may limit the book's usefulness to alphabet newcomers. But the way Frasier brings to life a jaunty Ferris wheel, a sunburst-yellow pitcher of lemonade and a swirling roller coaster will nevertheless whet appetites for summer. THE QUIET BOOK By Deborah Underwood. Illustrated by Renata Liwska, Houghton Mifflin. $12.95. (Ages 3 to 5) "There are many kinds of quiet: First one awake quiet; jelly side down quiet; don't scare the robin quiet." Underwood's gently humorous text follows the same simple pattern throughout, accompanied by Liwska's penciled illustrations of some fuzzy animal characters (in an appropriately hushed palette). Not all is completely muted. A comical image shows the animals driving along, windblown, through a snowstorm in a convertible - "car ride at night quiet." Sort of. PICTURE THE DEAD By Adele Griffin and Lisa Brown. Fire/Sourcebooks. $17.99. (Ages 12 and up) Brown's striking portraits, drawings displayed throughout as though in a photo album, animate this artful Civil War-era novel. Jennie, 16 years old and an orphan, is left without prospects when Will, her fiancé, dies on the battlefield : his mother is her reluctant guardian, and makes it clear she is no longer welcome in the house. With the aid of a spirit photographer, Jennie attempts to get to the bottom of a mystery: How exactly did Will die, and why does she keep having such horrible dreams? The story is engrossing and the period details an added pleasure. JULIE JUST
Copyright (c) The New York Times Company [June 20, 2010]
Review by Booklist Review
Arriving in time for the 2010 World Cup, this heart-tugging picture book from a debut author tells a lyrical soccer story in the voice of a young boy in a South African shantytown. After winning a federation-size football at school, the narrator and his friends enjoy a game, but bullies interrupt them. With some deft foot maneuvers, though, the young players deter the aggressors and resume their game, this time with a wary lookout: The streets are not always safe. The poetic text's rhythmic repetition emphasizes the boys' joyful empowerment: When we play, / we forget to worry. / When we run, / we are not afraid. In full-page oil paintings, Ford uses unusual angles to intensify the sense of the scuffling, exciting action; the tense confrontation; and the reality of shantytown life. An afterword includes fascinating historical notes and reinforces the narrator's moving message about soccer's power to inspire and connect fans and players around the world: I follow the ball to the end of the alley; / I follow the ball to the end of the world. --Engberg, Gillian Copyright 2010 Booklist
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
In her debut picture book, Javaherbin crisply relays a simple story that should strike a chord with a wide range of readers. In a barren South African village, Ajani calls for his friends to come out to play soccer. The boy carries the pristine federation-size ball (which he won for being the best reader in class) in a dented pail he'll later use to fetch water. Ford's (Barack) dramatically lit oil paintings convey Ajani's excitement and pride about his new acquisition ("We are real champions, playing with a real ball"). He and his friends are also wary of bullies who roam the streets, and one boy stands guard on a rooftop. When the mean boys arrive, Ajani surreptitiously kicks the soccer ball into the overturned bucket and the oblivious bullies instead steal an old plastic ball nearby, barking, "No playing soccer here or you'll be sorry." While the level of danger-and deprivation-these boys face may be unfamiliar to many American readers, the quick-moving soccer action, tension, and triumph over the common threat of bullies have near-universal appeal. Ages 6-10. (Apr.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 2-4-Six boys in a small South African town thwart a group of bullies who threaten to stop their soccer game by stealing their prize possession, a federation-size ball. The camaraderie of these youngsters is evident as they play soccer after chores and homework are done in order to find some relief from daily hardships. The bullies arrive suddenly on bikes, even though the boys had planned ahead and posted a lookout atop a nearby building. The author uses repetitive phrasing, "Left is clear. Right is clear," to indicate that the youth are always aware that the streets are not safe. Illustrations rendered in oil are impressive. Large and colorful action shots, many full spread, keep the story moving at a quick pace. Expressive facial features emphasize the tension felt when the hoodlums interrupt the soccer fun. Choose this book with an international bent to supplement other books on bullying, because it will open up another opportunity for conversation and discussion.-Blair Christolon, Prince William Public Library System, Manassas, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Horn Book Review
In a South African alley, a group of friends try to protect one boy's new "federation-size" soccer ball from neighborhood bullies. The realistic oil paintings are richly detailed, conveying universal feelings of fear, friendship, and team spirit. Readers will empathize with these children although they live a very different life. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
A group of friends enjoys a game of soccer in the street, fending off bullies and cleverly protecting their prized new regulation soccer ball. Kids who don't read the author's note won't know that this game takes place in South Africa, but they'll certainly see the poverty the kids face, as Ford's oil paintings show dirt streets, patched shacks and clothing that is worn and torn. They'll also recognize the thrill of having something brand new and root for the younger kids to outwit the bullies. They have more trouble following the action. It takes a keen eye to figure out who's who, and the pictures have a static feel that contrasts with first-time author Javaherbin's breathless play-by-play narration. The danger posed by the older boys is unclear but ominous, implied by the fact that one of the boys sits out the game as a guard. The paintings are realistic and evocatively capture the dusty alley and an incongruously lovely sunset, but ultimately neither words nor pictures come fully to life. (Picture book. 7-9)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
