Book Review #1

 Book Review: A Ball For Daisy by Chris Raschka

1. Bibliography

     Raschka, Chris. 2011. A BALL FOR DAISY. By Chris Raschka. New York: Schwartz & Wade          Books. ISBN 978-0-375-85861-1

2. Plot Summary

In this picture book, Chris Raschka tells the story of a white dog named Daisy and her favorite ball.  Daisy loves the ball so much she takes it everywhere she goes, she even sleeps with it.  One day her owner take her out for a walk and they take the red with with them.  The ball gets taken by a brown dog who also wants to play with the ball.  Daisy tried to get the ball back but the brown dog insists on playing with it and ends up popping the ball.  Daisy is very sad because her favorite ball is ruined and her owner throws it in the trash.  Later, Daisy's owner takes her for a walk and on that walk she sees the same brown dog who ruined her red ball. That brown dog has a blue ball and gives it to Daisy, that blue ball makes Daisy very happy.

3.  Critical Analysis 

This is a story of a dog and her ball which shows an honest depiction of how a dog behaves.  By looking at the first couple of pages the reader can see in Raschka's illustrations how much Daisy loves her ball.  As the story continues you can see all the emotions that Daisy is feeling as she loses her favorite red ball.  The reader can see and feel the disappointment in Daisy's face as she walks with her owner without her ball.  The next time she walks with her owner and is given a new ball the reader can experience the happiness Daisy is feeling.

The illustrations are made up of water colors and ink, which make this book different from other picture books that I have seen.  Raschka's pictures walks you through this picture book without the need to have words, the reader can draw her own conclusions.

This is a great book to share with young kids, especially those who love dogs.  Reading A Ball for Daisy allows many opportunities to discuss different types of emotions and allows for a discussion of feeling we might have when losing something we care for.  I recommend this book for children of all ages, has many teachable moments throughout the story.

4.  Review Excerpts

• Starred Review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: "Raschka's genius lies in capturing the essence of situations that are deeply felt by children."
• Winner of the 2012 Randolph Caldecott Medal

5.  Connections

• This picture books is great book to make lead discussions about what it is like to lose something special.
• Students can make connections about their feelings when they have made a new friend or when their friend has done something they don't like.
• Students can write about a time they have had feeling like Daisy.