THREE PROS
*Illustrator CF Payne creates an enduring small town holiday feel that works best on the pages with a more distant view (you'll see why in a few bullet points)
*Subtly references a lot of famous football games from the early days of the NFL, which gives your adult brain a sorta fun game to play (remembering the participants and key plays) while reading to your child
*I'm glad Phil Bildner chose to end it by having the whole family sit down to eat, otherwise the holiday link might have been overshadowed by the pigskin
*I'm glad Phil Bildner chose to end it by having the whole family sit down to eat, otherwise the holiday link might have been overshadowed by the pigskin
THREE CONS
*On the surface the story is robust enough to deserve a book of its own, but in reality it's a pretty pointless endeavor that creates a false barrier to achieving his fun for our star, Ethan (in short, why does he need his family to play football when he has his friends, and why is it a Eureka moment when he realizes this)
*Could have used less facial detail, since most of the countenances are plain scary to look at ... and why does the Ethan's mom have to look like Doris Kearns Goodwin
*Could have used less facial detail, since most of the countenances are plain scary to look at ... and why does the Ethan's mom have to look like Doris Kearns Goodwin
*The timelessness can also be frustrating when trying to determine if this is supposed to be taking place in the 1958 (what with the goalpost placement and children's helmets) or in 2008 (when it was published)
ONE DAD'S OPINION
Immediately before driving to the library today, I was trying to make sense of my Thanksgiving plans. We're heading west to the Golden State for the first time since my son was born, and need to coordinate a multiple household turkey day that doesn't cause me to miss a second of the first relevant November Lions game in a decade. So, obviously I had Pilgrims on my mind when I entered this building -- and that sentiment led me right to the seasonal book section. There wasn't a lot to choose from on those shelves that would appeal to someone under ten, and this story looked like the most interesting of the bunch. It wasn't. If it was a plate on my Thanksgiving table, I'd equate it to the cranberry dish -- something that you think will be a nice change of pace for your palette, but inevitably disappoints.
Buy / Borrow / DONATE / Destroy
ONE DAD'S OPINION
Immediately before driving to the library today, I was trying to make sense of my Thanksgiving plans. We're heading west to the Golden State for the first time since my son was born, and need to coordinate a multiple household turkey day that doesn't cause me to miss a second of the first relevant November Lions game in a decade. So, obviously I had Pilgrims on my mind when I entered this building -- and that sentiment led me right to the seasonal book section. There wasn't a lot to choose from on those shelves that would appeal to someone under ten, and this story looked like the most interesting of the bunch. It wasn't. If it was a plate on my Thanksgiving table, I'd equate it to the cranberry dish -- something that you think will be a nice change of pace for your palette, but inevitably disappoints.
Buy / Borrow / DONATE / Destroy
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