You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax? by Jonah Winter & Andre’ Carrilho
Posted by: Cindy Dobrez and Lynn Rutan
Lynn: “You gotta be kidding! You never heard of Sandy Koufax?” says the unseen fan narrating this strikingly different picture book. Readers drawn to the “lenticular” cover (lenses creating the illusion of movement) will be fascinated by the story inside. The enigmatic Sandy Koufax was, arguably, the greatest left-handed pitcher ever to play the game. The quiet Jewish kid growing up in Brooklyn was supposed to be a doctor or a lawyer but he was a “whiz at every sport he played.” You Never Heard of Sandy Koufax? (Random/Schwartz & Wade 2009) is the story of this unusual and inspiring athlete, related in a style that makes you feel you are sitting in the bleachers, listening to a long-time fan. In an era when sports stars never shut up, Koufax ‘s quiet self-effacement will amaze kids as will his determination. Koufax struggled in his first years with the Dodgers, troubled by control problems and a sore arm, actually quitting the team at the end of the 1960 season. But he was back the next spring and for six golden years, he was unhittable before abruptly retiring.
Carrilho’s angular illustrations work perfectly with the casual voice of the narration. The perspective highlights the sense of watching the action from the stands and the stark palette feels just right with the touch of blue on the uniforms and the metallic gold highlights. As I write this only five games remain in the regular season and the playoffs will start soon. Set this fabulous book up on display and watch it attract fans. This is a picture book that will work wonderfully with all ages and all collections.
Cindy: It’s hard being a Chicago sports fan, so I think I’ll just start rooting for publishers who make great books like this one. You Never Heard of Schwartz & Wade? Read Ilene Cooper’s interview with the women behind this new Random House imprint. This Feb. ’09 feature was the first in Booklist’s new Bookmakers series profiling folks in the publishing business. I am not the baseball fan that Lynn is (I’m waiting for college basketball practice to start next week) so I learned a lot about Koufax in this book, and about other players as well. Young baseball fans will find this a perfect introduction to a long journey of reading about favorite players and memorizing statistics. Many of the stunning double page spreads also contain statistic or fact boxes that will fascinate. And readers who want more, can turn to the list of statistic websites and the glossary of baseball terms in the back. Many of my middle school teachers use a visual presenter to share picture books with their large classes and this one would make an excellent choice for that age group for a non-didactic lesson about persistence. Nonfiction Monday features weekly nonfiction blog reviews, hosted today by Moms Inspire Learning.
October 26th, 2009 at 6:44 pm
I think that this is a very important book. I would love to have a copy to read at my library storytime.