Ziggy's Blue-Ribbon Day [Hardcover]

Claudia Mills (Author), R. W. Alley (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 4 and up | Grade Level: P and up

Every kid’s a winner!
Ziggy dreads track-and-field day. He isn’t good at running races or at high or long jumping. He isn’t good at throwing balls, either. Ziggy is good at drawing pictures, but there’s no picturedrawing event on track-and-field day. At least he can decorate the envelope that will hold his disappointing gray ribbons. To Ziggy’s surprise, his drawing becomes a huge hit! The kids all want their envelopes decorated by Ziggy – and offer him their blue ribbons in exchange.
Bright, animated pictures add spunk to a story about the joy of doing what one does best.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Kindergarten-Grade 2–Ziggy isn't athletic, but he loves to draw. On the day of the track-and-field meet, he is anxious. He reluctantly joins his classmates outdoors, where all the participants will receive ribbons for competing in the day's events–blue for first place, then red, or gold, or silver. While waiting for a race to begin, Ziggy colors the outside of the envelope in which he is to collect his ribbons; he is sure that they all will be silver. When a classmate spots his artwork, she asks him to draw on her envelope in exchange for one of her blue ribbons. Soon, other students are bartering theirs for his drawing services. The lively color cartoon illustrations succinctly express Ziggy's passion.–Linda Zeilstra Sawyer, Skokie Public Library, IL
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist

K-Gr. 3. When Ziggy's class goes out for track-and-field day at school, Ziggy knows that he is supposed to do his best. Unfortunately, he knows that his best is "worse than everyone else's best" and that he will probably end with an envelope full of "gray" (silver) ribbons instead of the blue, red, and gold ones that indicate various levels of winning. He's right, but Ziggy, the class artist, really shines at drawing brightly colored pictures, and the other kids happily barter their blue ribbons for his work. The author of the Gus and Grandpa series, Mills offers a simple but heartening story for kids who don't excel on the playing field but have other talents. From the roll of a pencil off a desk to the body language of schoolchildren who really want to be called on and those who really don't, Alley's paintings capture the school milieu with keenly observed details and a wry humor. A great choice to read aloud on field day, this upbeat picture book has broad appeal. Carolyn Phelan
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 4 and up
  
• Hardcover: 32 pages
• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR); First Edition edition (July 14, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0374323526
• ISBN-13: 978-0374323523
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 9.1 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,496,044 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.