I chose this book, because I always admired
Kristi Yamaguchi as a sportswoman and television presenter. I thought that by picking this book I could
let my daughter know about Ms. Yamaguchi’s accomplishments while satisfying her
need for all things pink. I was hoping for a very girly in appearance with
substance underneath.
Author: Kristi
Yamaguchi
Illustrator: Tim Bowers
Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky (March 15, 2011)
Prices: Hardback $16.99, Paperback $13.25, e-book $9.99
Reading level: Ages 4 to 8 years
Interest level: Lower Grades
Physical Characteristics: Hardback, 9.8 x
10.5 inches, 32 pages
ISBN: 1402252757
Genre: Children's Fiction Picture Book
Subjects: Swine
– Juvenile fiction
Ice skating – fiction
Determination
Ambition – Juvenile fiction
Persistence – Juvenile fiction
Pigs - Fiction
Annotation: Poppy is a pig that wants to be a star and while
trying to find her talent, has a few failures, but eventually she finds
someplace where she shines.
Summary:
Former
Olympic ice skater Kristy Yamaguchi writes a story about Poppy, a pig who wants
to be a star. Poppy tries her hand at
several things, including ballet, singing and modeling. Every time she tries one of these new things
the animals in charge tell her that she isn’t good enough and shouldn’t do
it. Her family and friends are very
encouraging every time, urging her to try something else. After several failures, Poppy accepts that
having a supportive and loving family and being happy is enough. Then on a family trip she discovers an ice
skating rink and a place where she can be a star.
Evaluation:
I chose this book hoping for
some substance under the guise of a pink and sparkly ‘girl’ book, but I was disappointed. The message was muddled and not empowering
whatsoever. Was the moral of the story
to be persistent until you find what you are good at, or was the moral of the
story being happy in your own skin and loved by your family and friends is
enough? It seemed to me that the moral
was neither. Instead the book showed that
being famous, no matter what you do, is something
to strive for. Poppy did not seem to be searching for something that she
excelled out and could be fulfilled by, she was just chasing fame and
adoration. And honestly, her initial
failures should have been failures.
You cannot just expect to be great at ballet or singing or even
modeling, unless you practice and love it.
Jumping in to any activity just for notoriety will never end well.
I did like that her family was
so encouraging, telling Poppy to "Follow your Dreams!"
and "Dream Big, pig!”. But, was the encouragement deserved? Poppy tried her hand at modeling, ballet and
singing without practicing and without persistence. I think a stronger way to go about this story
would have been to have Poppy try skating several times, with the same amount
of naysaying, and instead of looking for something else to do, she could have
stuck to it and prevailed. This book
could have been about persistence, but instead it was about our modern fame
hungry culture.
One positive about this book was the detailed and charming watercolor illustrations by Tim Powers.
Similar Titles or Authors:
It’s a Big World,
Little Pig
By
Kristi Yamaguchi and Tim Bowers
A is for Axel: An
Ice Skating Alphabet
By Kurt Browning
Websites
Awards & Recognition:
New York Times, Bestseller
Professional Reviews:
School
Library Journal
Constantinide , J. (2012). Review of Dream big little pig.
In School Library Journal,
(58, 5), p84.
All
images (c)Tim Bowers
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