Sports/Games/Crafts

BILDNER, Phil. Turkey Bowl. illus. by C. F. Payne. unpaged. CIP. S & S. 2008. RTE $16.99. ISBN 978-0-689-87896-1. LC 2005020139.

K-Gr 2–Finally old enough to join in his family's raucous, generally bad-weather Thanksgiving Day football game, Ethan awakens to find a blizzard has prevented his relatives from traveling to the event. When the boy and his neighborhood buddies save tradition by starting their own game (knee-deep in snow), they look up to discover a host of familiar faces cheering them on. Expressive mixed-media artwork illustrates a story for all seasons. B

HUBBARD, Crystal. The Last Black King of the Kentucky Derby: The Story of Jimmy Winkfield. illus. by Robert McGuire. unpaged. map. reprods. CIP. Lee & Low. 2008. RTE $17.95. ISBN 978-1-58430-274-2. LC 2006039015.

Gr 2-4–Fluid oil paintings and rousing text tell the riveting true-life story of Winkfield, the last African American to win this prestigious race in 1902. Born the son of Kentucky sharecroppers, Wink's hard work and determination allowed him to realize his dream of becoming “a great jockey,” until mounting racial tensions changed the face of the sport in the U.S. B

MCCARTHY, Meghan. Seabiscuit the Wonder Horse. illus. by author. unpaged. bibliog. Web sites. CIP. S & S/Paula Wiseman Bks. 2008. RTE $15.99. ISBN 978-1-4169-3360-3. LC 2008006729.

K-Gr 3–An edge-of-your-seat narrative and droll acrylic paintings relate the true story of a racehorse who, with the help of some farsighted humans, went from a “funny-looking” flop to a crowd-pleasing champion. McCarthy's clearly delineated Great Depression setting shows how tough times made people all the more ready to embrace this underdog as “America's hero.” B