On the Ball

by Brian Pinkney, Brian Pinkney (Illustrator)

Overview

Owen loves playing ball. But it doesn't always "love" him back. And after a particularly disastrous day on the field, Owen is benched. He is feeling so low that he doesn't even notice the ball rolling through a hole in the fence until it's gotten away. In his effort to get it back, he discovers that he has more skills than he realizes.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781368004466
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	01/04/2017
Series:	Hyperion Picture Book (eBook)
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
File size:	12 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	3 - 5 Years

About the Author

Brian Pinkney has illustrated numerous books for children, including two Caldecott Honor books, and he has written and illustrated several of his own books. Brian has received the Coretta Scott King Book Award for Illustration and three Coretta Scott King Book Award Honor medals.

Editorial Reviews

While Pinkney's style leans toward the abstract, it's remarkable how evocative the renderings of Owen's body are—by the end, he really looks like an accomplished young soccer player…There are actually two messages in the book. The obvious one is: Keep your eye on the ball and you'll find your natural ability. But in Owen's case, that also means letting his imagination roam free. It's a tender melding of athletic ambition and youthful inventiveness—and a reminder that simply embracing the stuff in a child's everyday life can be a powerful way into his or her imaginative one.

The New York Times Book Review - Dan Saltzstein

06/08/2015
Working with loose brushstrokes and swirls that mimic his hero’s movements, Pinkney (Martin & Mahalia) presents a portrait of a boy who learns that physical grace comes from a mysterious place inside him. Owen struggles to keep up on the soccer field, and one day, as he sits glumly on the bench recovering from a spill, the ball rolls downhill and bounces away. “It was up to Owen to chase it down and bring it back.” The ball tumbles into a swiftly flowing stream, and Owen follows. He’s rolled and buffeted by the rapids, but something about this new adventure frees him from his sullen complacency. Now he imagines himself a tiger and pounces after the ball. When the ball flies off a cliff, Owen sprouts wings that let him fly. Finally, he carries the ball back to the field with new pride. Pinkney’s strokes create force across every page, conveying the idea that the body in motion offers pleasure for its own sake. The promotion of exercise often depends on false cheer or blandishments; Pinkney shows it as a simple joy. Ages 3–5. Agent: Rebecca Sherman, Writers House. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

★ 10/01/2015
PreS-Gr 2—Owen is a young boy who loves playing ball, but "playing ball didn't always love Owen." When he is benched at a soccer game, the ball takes on a life of its own. Owen follows it into a fantasy world—a down-the-rabbit-hole adventure—where he becomes a sea creature, a tiger, and a bird before returning back to the field. With these newly acquired abilities to float, pounce, and fly, his soccer skills are supreme, and the last page features a martial arts-style spinning air kick into the goal. The illustrations, with their loose and fluid watercolors with India ink outlines, recall Chris Raschka's work and perfectly reflect the fast-paced nature of a soccer game. The brown-skinned soccer-playing boy is a wonderful addition to the genre of sports picture books, as the title celebrates the triumph of a playful mind and its connection to the body. VERDICT A joyful selection for all collections.—Lisa Nowlain, Darien Library, CT

School Library Journal

★ 2015-06-29
Failing to keep his eye on the soccer ball, a player finds himself on an eventful chase to catch the runaway plaything. Owen loves playing soccer, but he isn't a star. One day, while sitting on the bench during a game, he takes his eye off the ball, and it escapes—almost literally, rolling away through a nearby hole in the fence. Determined to retrieve the ball, Owen chases it across a stream, tracks it into underbrush, and returns to the game—where he now handles the ball like a pro. The strategically placed minimalist text belies the breathtaking visual rendition of Owen's quest to catch the rogue ball. Sprightly watercolor illustrations in loose, fluid brush strokes and calligraphic lines generate a dynamic energy relentlessly propelling Owen from page to page across double-page spreads. Pinkney shows light-skinned, African-American Owen battling tsunami-sized waves, submerged and tossed in swirling water amid an onomatopoeic "whooooosh." Reaching the shore, Owen morphs into a bold tiger, bouncing and pouncing the ball through the brush to the cliff's edge, where he suddenly sprouts wings and acrobatically dives and swoops to capture the ball. He returns triumphantly to the game as a "floating, fierce, and flying free" soccer player who always keeps his eye "ON THE BALL!" An inspired, exhilarating portrait of the transforming power of imagination, with special appeal for aspiring soccer stars. (Picture book. 3-5)

Kirkus Reviews