Don't Throw It to Mo! (Mo Jackson Series)

by David A. Adler, Sam Ricks (Illustrator)

Overview

Winner of the 2016 Theodor Seuss Geisel Award

Mo is the youngest kid on the Robins, his football team. His classmates don’t mind, but the kids on their rival team tease him for being a "butterfingers" who's too tiny to catch the ball. But Mo's coach has a plan to turn Mo's little size into a big win for the Robins! This Level 2 reader about a little African-American boy with a big passion for sports was the winner of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award in 2016.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780448480091
Publisher:	Penguin Young Readers Group
Publication date:	05/03/2016
Series:	Mo Jackson: Penguin Young Readers, L2 , #1
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.20(d)
Lexile:	470L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 7 Years

About the Author

David A. Adler is the author of more than two hundred children’s books, including two Level 3 easy-to-read series, Young Cam Jansen and Bones. Visit David at davidaadler.com.

Sam Ricks is a children's books illustrator and lead graphic design faculty at The Art Institute of Salt Lake City. Visit him at samricks.com.

Editorial Reviews

04/01/2015
K-Gr 2—Mo loves football so much that his mother wakes him up every morning for school by throwing him a forward pass. He participates in a neighborhood football team in which most of the kids are older, but Mo practices every day and keeps coach Steve company on the bench cheering for his team. Sometimes his coach works with Mo even though the boy doesn't play. One day, things change for Mo; coach Steve puts him in the game. No one expects him to play well, and the other team doesn't try to challenge him. Then one special play saves the game, and Mo wins it for his team. This beginning reader is well designed with bold colors and cartoon illustrations to provide new readers with context clues that support the story. Simple sentences and in-depth plot support key details providing material for strong comprehension to support fluency. VERDICT An engaging sports title with ethnically diverse characters, recommended for all early reader collections.—Melissa Smith, Royal Oak Public Library, MI

School Library Journal

2015-03-03
Mo is one football-crazy little boy.Using a football for a pillow, waking up to his mom's calls of football plays—Mo's whole life revolves around the pigskin. Even though he is younger and smaller than the other kids on the team, he plays for the Robins. He mostly sits on the bench next to Coach Steve, but he still lives to play. One day during a game, Coach Steve butters the ball to teach Mo hand skills, and the opposing team sees him bobble the ball. The coach puts Mo in but tells the Robins not to throw to Mo, causing the other team's players to mock the boy. Having cagily established Mo as no threat, the coach then engineers Mo's capture of the game-winning throw. While the ample font, recognizable words, and amusing full-color cartoon illustrations make Mo's story seem to be a good fit for new readers, the plot is confusing in parts. Most children know that butter does not easily wash off with cold water and that football teams do not include children of wildly varying ages. When Mo gives credit to his coach for the winning play, Coach Steve says something that no coach of a team sport ever says: "No....You won the game." A diverse cast of football players, including a pigtailed girl and a proudly centered African-American protagonist, adds interest, but the plot's flaws may put off even young football fanatics. (Early reader. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews