BIG KICKS

Biggie Bear knows a lot about jazz and stamp collecting, but nothing about soccer. Still, when the town’s diminutive Mighty Giants appear on his doorstep, begging him to step in for the incapacitated Brown Dog, he obligingly agrees to give it a go. A huge black presence in each bright, flat, digital suburban spread, Biggie comes across as intimidating enough to the opposing team—but, as Kolar rightly notes, “being big and being good at soccer were not the same.” The score remains tied until the last moment, when Biggie spots a rare stamp on the pitch and eagerly bends down just in time to put a winning header into the net. After a failed attempt to carry Biggie off on their shoulders the Mighty Giants follow him back home for a triumphant jazz and peanut-butter-and-banana–sandwich celebration. The message that physical differences are not insuperable obstacles to friendship rests lightly on the plot, and will be readily absorbed by young audiences. (Picture book. 6-8)