Riding home from school one autumn day, a group of children eagerly anticipates the game of football that they will play together. Organized by Bobby, the game gets going, only to be subverted by Sparky the dog, who steals the ball and leads the children on a chase ending in a massive pile of leaves. All too soon it is time to go in, and the children head home as the snow begins to fall...

A simple text is paired with lovely artwork in Fall Ball, author/illustrator Peter McCarty's picture-book tribute to the pleasure of football in the autumn season. The story isn't particularly gripping here, although it certainly captures that sense one has in childhood, of fun times passing too quickly. The real charm, at least for me, was in McCarty's pen and ink and watercolor artwork, which is really quite beautiful. Recommended to anyone looking for children's stories about playing football with one's friends and/or about the beauty of the autumn season. ( )

Summary:
This book is about kids that are excited to get home from school to meet in the park for a game of football. The kids play in the leaves until they are called in by their parents when it starts getting dark and starts to snow.

Classroom Extension:
Book could be used to promote physical activity, team sports

Seems a bit too heavy on the nostalgia for children to appreciate. ( )

Fall Ball
“Fall Ball” by Peter McCarty was not one of my favorite books, but a book I may read in the classroom. The writing was not as engaging for me; however, the plot was organized and I think one that children can relate to. The story begins with school ending for the day and the kids wanting to go outside and at the end of the book, it is dark and they have to go home for the evening and it begins to snow. Young readers also can’t wait for the end of the school day and most look forward to fun with their friends. Each page only contains one or two descriptive sentences. “The children are happy to be going home from school. They have waited all day for their chance to play.” The illustrations are a little odd; however, they incorporate fall colors and fill the pages. The odd part is the illustrations of the children. In my opinion, they are a little creepy. They have square heads and their hair stands straight up, their feet are pointy and their lips are created so that it looks like they are sticking their tongues out continually. In today’s world, many students don’t get to tell their parent “Hi Mom. I’m home….I’m going to the park now. But I’ll be back when it’s dark” so I feel the illustrations are supposed to be slightly askew and possibly reflect and “old time” look. The big idea is playing football with your friends after school. ( )

This book struck a nice chord with me since fall is my favorite season, and I enjoy college football. I really enjoyed the pen-and-ink (a favorite medium of mine) illustrations too! ( )