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TOM THE GOOD LUCK BLACK CAT

Name: TOM THE GOOD LUCK BLACK CAT
Author: Kirk Aurandt
ISBN: 978-0-692-80380-6

THE LITTLE-KNOWN STORY OF HOW A BLACK CAT FROM BUTLER, PENNSYLVANIA, HELPED THE PITTSBURGH PIRATES WIN THE 1925 WORLD SERIES

written and illustrated by Kirk Aurandt ‧ RELEASE DATE: Dec. 5, 2016

A cute, simple tale about a feline who loves the Pittsburgh Pirates.

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A black cat’s good luck helps his team win the World Series in this debut children’s book.

It’s 1925. The Pittsburgh Pirates have won their first pennant in 16 years and are about to face the Washington Senators in the World Series. Tom, a Pirates fan and black cat from Butler, Pennsylvania, attempts to listen to the games at the local radio shop, but his fellow Pittsburgh fans bar his entry—after all, black cats are bad luck. “He’s a jinx,” they say. “The Pirates will lose if he comes in here. Don’t let him in.” The irony is that Tom is actually an authentic good luck cat—he has a card and everything—but his certification expired the day before, and the office won’t be open again until Monday. Tom, forced to follow the first four games by reading the newspaper, is dismayed as the Pirates lose three of them, falling far behind in the series. To keep his beloved team from losing the series, Tom will have to get himself recertified as a good luck cat and also convince his fellow Pittsburgh fans that he can help turn the Pirates’ luck around. The story is based on a short article in the Pittsburgh Press that was published prior to Game 7 of the 1925 World Series, which Aurandt spins into a slightly more complex and agreeably goofy tall tale. The frequent inclusion of photographs of real newspaper headlines from the time period lends a sense of verisimilitude to this otherwise cartoonish story, which involves a talking cat and a Department of Good Luck Certification. Aurandt’s straightforward, warm prose maintains a pleasant tone throughout, keeping the book light and fun even at its moments of tension. At only 41 large print pages, the work should appeal to younger readers who are just beginning to move past picture books—particularly those with a budding interest in baseball or Pittsburgh sports history.

A cute, simple tale about a feline who loves the Pittsburgh Pirates.

Pub Date: Dec. 5, 2016

ISBN: 978-0-692-80380-6

Page Count: -

Publisher: Admiralty Record Publishing Company

Review Posted Online: Feb. 15, 2017

Review Program: Kirkus Indie

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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TALES FOR VERY PICKY EATERS

by Josh Schneider & illustrated by Josh Schneider ‧ RELEASE DATE: May 1, 2011

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Broccoli: No way is James going to eat broccoli. “It’s disgusting,” says James. Well then, James, says his father, let’s consider the alternatives: some wormy dirt, perhaps, some stinky socks, some pre-chewed gum? James reconsiders the broccoli, but—milk? “Blech,” says James. Right, says his father, who needs strong bones? You’ll be great at hide-and-seek, though not so great at baseball and kickball and even tickling the dog’s belly. James takes a mouthful. So it goes through lumpy oatmeal, mushroom lasagna and slimy eggs, with James’ father parrying his son’s every picky thrust. And it is fun, because the father’s retorts are so outlandish: the lasagna-making troll in the basement who will be sent back to the rat circus, there to endure the rodent’s vicious bites; the uneaten oatmeal that will grow and grow and probably devour the dog that the boy won’t be able to tickle any longer since his bones are so rubbery. Schneider’s watercolors catch the mood of gentle ribbing, the looks of bewilderment and surrender and the deadpanned malarkey. It all makes James’ father’s last urging—“I was just going to say that you might like them if you tried them”—wholly fresh and unexpected advice. (Early reader. 5-9)

Pub Date: May 1, 2011

ISBN: 978-0-547-14956-1

Page Count: 48

Publisher: Clarion Books

Review Posted Online: April 4, 2011

Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 1, 2011

Categories:

CHILDREN'S GENERAL CHILDREN'S

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ULTRABOT'S FIRST PLAYDATE
by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider

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KID AMAZING VS. THE BLOB
by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider

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EVERYBODY SLEEPS (BUT NOT FRED)
by Josh Schneider ; illustrated by Josh Schneider

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ABIYOYO RETURNS

by Pete Seeger & Paul Dubois Jacobs & illustrated by Michael Hays ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 1, 2001

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The seemingly ageless Seeger brings back his renowned giant for another go in a tuneful tale that, like the art, is a bit sketchy, but chockful of worthy messages. Faced with yearly floods and droughts since they’ve cut down all their trees, the townsfolk decide to build a dam—but the project is stymied by a boulder that is too huge to move. Call on Abiyoyo, suggests the granddaughter of the man with the magic wand, then just “Zoop Zoop” him away again. But the rock that Abiyoyo obligingly flings aside smashes the wand. How to avoid Abiyoyo’s destruction now? Sing the monster to sleep, then make it a peaceful, tree-planting member of the community, of course. Seeger sums it up in a postscript: “every community must learn to manage its giants.” Hays, who illustrated the original (1986), creates colorful, if unfinished-looking, scenes featuring a notably multicultural human cast and a towering Cubist fantasy of a giant. The song, based on a Xhosa lullaby, still has that hard-to-resist sing-along potential, and the themes of waging peace, collective action, and the benefits of sound ecological practices are presented in ways that children will both appreciate and enjoy. (Picture book. 5-9)