A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka

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

A Ball for Daisy by Chris Raschka is the 2012 Caldecott Medal Winner. The whimsical, nearly wordless picture book chronicles the story of a ball-loving puppy that suffers the heartbreaking loss of her beloved ball after it is ruined by another puppy friend. However, in an act of goodwill and responsibility, the owner of the puppy friend replaces Daisy’s ball and then once again all is right in Daisy’s world. The simple, colorful illustrations weave the tale of Daisy and her ball beautifully. In addition to the minimal word count, Daisy’s emotions are easily seen on her face and in her body language making the book appropriate for young readers. It would be easy for children to relate to Daisy since most children have a favorite toy and sometimes have even experienced the loss of that toy. This book could be used for shared writing or independent writing in a Writer’s Workshop depending upon the ability of the students. It could also be used to practice inferencing skills or determining character traits and feelings for first, second, or third graders. The cute, whimsical story told in A Ball for Daisy was very appealing and will be one that I will use in my classroom or library.

(Image from amazon.com)