A Ball for Daisy

Raschka, C. (2011). A ball for Daisy. New York: Schwartz & Wade Books.

Book Summary

A Ball for Daisy is a picture book without words. Despite not having text, it tells the simple story of a dog, Daisy, and her ball. The images depict the pure happiness the dog has with her ball as she plays inside and at the park with her owner. Then, sadly, the ball deflates when another dog plays with it too roughly. Daisy deflates as well. She’s unhappy without her ball to play with. Then when she returns to the park, the other dog brings another ball to replace the old one. The two play and happiness returns.

Impressions

I love picture books that can tell a great story without words. Raschka’s drawings depict all Daisy’s emotions so clearly. She goes from ecstatic to despondent with just a few different strokes.  A Ball for Daisy was the 2012 Caldecott Medal Winner and he was a deserving winner. This books is a good resource for young readers because despite the fact that there are no words, it opens a door for their imagination. They have to use their own vocabulary to explain what they see on the page. Although they aren’t reading, they are using language and practicing how to express emotions in words.

Professional Review

“A little dog and her big ball map an inner life rich in heights of joy and depths of sorrow.

Sticking strictly to pictures—using neutral washes and just a few colors applied in broad, rumpled brushstrokes—Raschka follows floppy-eared Daisy and her large red ball on a walk to the park and a happy chase. Then disaster strikes, when a rougher dog horns in and pops the ball. Even very young viewers will feel Daisy’s pain as she passes in stages through incomprehension, dismay and anger to, at last, a bone-deep sadness that is brilliantly evoked by successive views of the droopy dog slowly sinking into a sofa’s cushions. Doggy delight rekindles, however, when another visit to the park finds the offending pooch and its owner waiting…with a new, blue ball! The final scene of Daisy and ball snuggled together on the sofa positively radiates canine content.

Rarely, perhaps never, has so steep an emotional arc been drawn with such utter, winning simplicity. “

Kirkus Review. November 16^th, 2011.

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Library Uses

This is a great book for younger patrons. They can use their imagination to add to the story, since there are no words limiting the storyline.  For smaller programs focused on literacy, this is a good one for having children practice using their own words to express a story. Our library currently hosts a “Read to a Dog” program where kids who are struggling readers can come read to a trained dog, who obviously won’t be correcting their words and embarrassing them. This book would be a fun introductory book to have kids use for this program so they can get used to reading to the dog without getting stressed over sounding out the correct words.