A Ball for Daisy

Raschka, C. (2011). A ball for daisy. New York, NY: Schwartz and Wade Books.

 

Notable Books for Children List, 2012 

If the plot does not fit the traditional plot line, what plot line does the book illustrate?  Write a 5-6 sentence description of the book:

A Ball for Daisy follows a nontraditional plot line as it depicts the adventures of a black and white dog named Daisy and her red ball strictly through pictures.  Daisy plays with the ball on the couch and then while a young girl walks her on a leash outside.  Daisy gets loose and runs with the ball, but when it is trapped on the other side of a fence, the young girl retrieves it, and Daisy and a brown dog that has joined them begin to play with it.  The brown dog takes the ball and runs with it, but it pops.  Daisy is sad but still tries to play with the remains of the popped ball.  The girl comes to get Daisy and tries to comfort her, and eventually takes her on a walk where they are greeted by the brown dog and its owner who is carrying a blue ball; the two dogs play together, and in the end, the two pairs part ways, and Daisy carries the blue ball in her mouth to her home.

Picture books only (Was this a well illustrated book? Describe how it was or was not well-illustrated in 3 sentences.):  Through very childlike paintings, Chris Raschka is able to skillfully tell Daisy’s story without using any words.  The reader can easily get a sense of Daisy’s love for her red ball as she is depicted in each picture with a smile on her face.  Raschka places the pictures in an almost comic strip manner, so that the reader must focus on Daisy and her ball; the pictures do not expand to include the girl’s full body until the very end when she comforts Daisy and they discover the blue ball and its owners.