Jason Rat-A-Tat - Hardcover

Rodowsky, Colby

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0374336717 ISBN 13: 9780374336714

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR), 2002

Synopsis

A book for young readers about realizing one’s passion

Jason Miller’s family is always on the go, and always for the same reason: ball games. Jason spends a lot of time on the sidelines, because he’s not much for playing sports. He sometimes watches the games, and sometimes stretches out on the bleachers to watch the clouds roll by. But whatever he does, Jason is always happiest when he accompanies it with the tap-tap-tap of a stick on a trash can, or the shake-shake-shake of a can of bottle caps. It’s Jason’s granddad who, during a weeklong visit, first notices Jason’s bent for all things rat-a-tat. One day Granddad comes home with a large package that’s the perfect thing for a boy who may be no ballplayer but is, instead, a talented musician in the making.

Colby Rodowsky has created a winning character in Jason, and Beth Peck’s pictures are a gentle accompaniment.

About this title

About the Author:

Colby Rodowsky is the author of numerous books for children and young adults, including the ALA Notable Book Not My Dog. She lives in Baltimore, Maryland.

Beth Peck has illustrated many books, notably Truman Capote’s A Christmas Memory. She lives in Menomonie, Wisconsin.

From Publishers Weekly:

Geared to readers ready for chapter books, Rodowsky's (Not My Dog) slim story centers on a nine-year-old whose entire family is enamored of ball games. Everyone except Jason, that is. He is a good sport about being dragged along to his brother's baseball games (their father coaches the team) and his sister's soccer games (their mother is coach of that team), but he's just not interested. At practices and games, he concentrates on deciphering animal shapes among the passing clouds or constructs a fort near the bleachers with his best friend. And he spends much of his time making music with makeshift instruments: he toots songs through paper-towel rolls, plays imaginary piano along the edge of his desk and sounds a "rat-a-tat" by hitting pencils or sticks against various surfaces. In a rather contrived scene, Jason suddenly realizes that he wants to play the drums while he and his family watch a marching band perform in the Memorial Day parade. Readers will immediately guess the contents of the large box that Jason's visiting grandfather presents to the child soon thereafter. Though kids with interests that differ from their siblings and peers may find reassurance in this tale, Rodowsky's usually nuanced writing is bland and her plot predictable. Final artwork not seen by PW. Ages 7-10.

Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR)
• Publication date: 2002
• ISBN 10: 0374336717
• ISBN 13: 9780374336714
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 68
• Illustrator: Peck Beth