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The Paperboy (Paperback)
by Dav Pilkey
| Category:
Award-winning books, Story, Ages 4-8, Children's books |
| Market price: ¥ 98.00
MSL price:
¥ 88.00
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| Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
 Good for Gifts |
| MSL Pointer Review:
It's the first taste of real life for children, with the story of a quiet, solid protagonist, who is a hero simply by doing his job every day, delivering the message of friendship and responsibility. |
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Author: Dav Pilkey
Publisher: Orchard Books
Pub. in: September, 1999
ISBN: 0531071391
Pages: 32
Measurements: 10.2 x 8.8 x 0.1 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BC00157
Other information:
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- Awards & Credential -
A winner of Caldecott Honor |
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- MSL Picks -
"The mornings of the paperboy are still dark and they are always cold even in the summer". A boy forces himself out of his warm bed and makes some breakfast for himself and his corgi dog. After bundling the papers up, the kid and his faithful companion make the familiar route and think their private thoughts. Just as the sun is rising, boy and dog have finished their job and they return home just as everyone else in the family is waking up. The paperboy and his pet, however, climb back into the bed, "which is still warm" and dream of soaring through the night sky. On the title page we see a dull gray truck leaving the loading dock of the Morning Star Gazette in the dead of night. It makes its delivery of a stack of newspapers at one of the many houses in a particular suburb.
The book records each small action that the paperboy accomplishes with a small unassuming note of triumph. Sentences like, "It's hard to ride a bike when you are loaded down with newspapers. But the paperboy has learned how to do this, and he is good at it". Also, getting out of a warm bed to do a job is exceedingly difficult to accomplish sometimes, "but they do". Kids don't have to ford rivers or climb mountains to be brave. Just making yourself to do something uncomfortable or unpleasant can be heroism enough. Pilkey recognizes this and celebrates it with understated aplomb.
Dav Pilkey does a great painting in The Paperboy. Since the story is written by a few sentences every page, it really gave children more space to image on the story. Although it's a simple story, it teaches children the most. It teaches our children that "friendship" would not only be limited just with human, it could also be with our animals, too. In addition, it also teaches our children what "responsibilities" are. In the story, the paperboy would finish his work before he went back to sleep. Therefore, when children grow up, they would know to take care of their responsibilities and not avoid them. It is a reverent account of a child's first taste of real life.
Target readers:
Kids aged 4-8
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Dav Pilkey is the creator of many acclaimed children's books, including Dogzilla, Kat Kong, God Bless the Gargoyles, and the bestselling Captain Underpants Series. His book The Paperboy received a Caldecott Honor. He lives in the Pacific Northwest.
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In the quiet hour before dawn, a boy and his dog get out of their warm bed, eat their breakfasts, and deliver the newspapers. Riding his bike along the delivery route, the boy thinks about "Big Things and small things. And sometimes he is thinking about nothing at all." Meanwhile, his dog travels the same route in his own way: "He knows which trees are for sniffing. He knows which birdbaths are for drinking, which squirrels are for chasing, and which cats are for growling at." Happy together before the rest of the world awakes, they finish the job and head back home to bed, where they dream of flying across the night sky. The story tells the details of a paperboy's morning in a matter-of-fact way, and young children will find those details fascinating: the wordless pages that show how the papers arrive at the boy's house; the paperboy snapping the green rubber bands around the rolled newspapers; and the empty red bag flapping behind the boy as he pedals home. The dual story of boy and dog adds dimension throughout and leads to a satisfying conclusion, but just as important is the sense of time passing within the story and the artwork. Using simplified shapes and muted colors shot with light, the acrylic paintings include beautifully composed landscapes and interiors, ending with a Chagall-like dream scene on the last page. An evocative mood piece, this captures the elusive feeling of being outside before dawn.
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Publishers Weekly, USA
<2006-12-19 00:00>
Pilkey is at his best in this highly atmospheric work. Here his trademark color palette glows quietly under the cover of darkness; violet skies and emerald-shadowed fields predominate until the explosion of a fiery dawn. Early one cold morning a boy and his dog rise to deliver newspapers. In almost reverential silence they eat breakfast, prepare the newspapers, then step out into the chill, leaving sleeping parents and sister inside. Pilkey perfectly captures the thrill of being out early, seeing the world so new and having it all to oneself. Something magical is at work on this most ordinary of paper routes, tangible in the controlled hush of the narrative and in the still, moon-lit landscapes. And, at last, as his family awakens to golden sunlight, the paperboy returns to his bed, prepared to enter another familiar Pilkey world: dreamland. |
A reader, USA
<2006-12-19 00:00>
Every morning, a young boy, who is the neighborhood paperboy, and his dog, go out on their route and deliver the papers to the sleeping neighbors. They enjoy their job and the peacefulness of being the only ones awake and out in the early morning. The paperboy experiences feelings of responsibility and accomplishment throughout the story. Most of the illustrations in The Paperboy are dark because the majority of the story takes place at dawn. This gives readers the feeling that they are part of the boy's early morning journey from house to house. The pictures do an excellent job of portraying the events of the story. |
Jonathan Smith, USA
<2006-12-19 00:00>
The Paperboy was written and illustrated by Dav Pilkey. This was a fun-to-read, lighthearted book that relayed a very vivid lesson of maturity and hard work. In the story, a boy and his dog get up early every morning and deliver papers. The paperboy was a very responsible young man who loved his job. The bright and happy illustrations played a key role in letting the reader know how happy the boy and his dog were. In this story, the author uses various forms of symbolism to portray the paperboy as being a very mature and hard-working young man. One of the first very obvious symbolic representations was the young boy's receding hairline. While this doesn't necessarily mean he is mature, it is a trait displayed by men who are generally much older, wiser, and more mature. In many foreign countries, older men, who usually have little or no hair, are more respected and thought to be wise and knowledgeable. I think the author was probably using this common knowledge to help relay his message of maturity. Another key symbolic representation is the way the boy cares for the dog as his own child. He takes him everywhere, feeds him, and watches over him. These are all characteristics of a mature adult who has accepted the responsibility of being a parent. Lastly, the fact that the boy leaves his warm bed very early on a cold Saturday morning while everyone else is still asleep, speaks wonders of his dedication and level of maturity. In the book, the paperboy never hesitates when his alarm goes off. He knows he has a job to do, and he does it. Even the boy's dog, who he has cared for and taught behavioral patterns, is eager to start the early day. In this book, the paperboy was clearly a responsible and dedicated young man. The various forms of symbolism that the author used were a very effective means of relaying this message. |
John Warren, USA
<2006-12-19 00:00>
Dav Pilkey must have been a paperboy. I was, and this captures the feel of being a boy wide awake while the world is still sleeping. I never tired of reading it. It's a perfect bedtime story. How can you lose with a story that has the character falling asleep at the end? |
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