The Paperboy

by Dav Pilkey

Overview

From #1 bestselling author-illustrator Dav Pilkey, a Caldecott Honor picture book about a boy, his dog, and the solitude they share before the world wakes up.

In the still before dawn, while the rest of the world is sleeping, a boy and his dog leave the comfort of their warm bed to deliver newspapers. As the boy pedals his bike along a route he knows by heart, his dog runs by his side, both enjoying a world that, before sunrise, belongs only to them.

Bestselling author-illustrator Dav Pilkey celebrates the beauty found in silence and the peace that comes from being with a beloved friend in this Caldecott Honor-winning picture book.

For more acclaimed picture books from Dav Pilkey, check out Dog Breath, The Hallo-Wiener, 'Twas the Night Before Thanksgiving, and Julius (written by Angela Johnson). And don't forget the worldwide bestselling Dog Man and Cat Kid Comic Club graphic novels and Captain Underpants chapter books!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780545356794
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	02/23/2016
Sold by:	Scholastic, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Pages:	32
Lexile:	AD530L (what's this?)
File size:	13 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

When Dav Pilkey was a kid, he was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. Dav was so disruptive in class that his teachers made him sit out in the hallway every day. Luckily, Dav loved to draw and make up stories. He spent his time in the hallway creating his own original comic books -- the very first adventures of Dog Man and Captain Underpants. In the second grade, Dav's teacher ripped up his comics and told him he couldn't spend the rest of his life making silly books. Fortunately, Dav was not a very good listener.

Editorial Reviews

Pilkey (When Cats Dream; the Dragon books) 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. Ages 4-10. (Mar.)

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Gr 1-3A quiet mood piece that depicts the bond between a paperboy and his dog. Human and canine both struggle to rouse themselves, eat breakfast from bowls, and have an intimate knowledge of their route. Pilkey paints their shared experiences with a graceful economy of language. Morning is the third character in the story"...this is the time when they are the happiest." Deep, sumptuous acrylics portray the initial darkness, the gradual lightening, and the riotous magenta and orange sunrise. The artist has cleverly designed parallel, yet contrasting, opening and closing scenes of the African American child in bed, feet covered by his dog, room framed by a sloping roof. In the first spread, the still starry morning surrounds the house and "enters" it through the uncurtained window. When the duo return and crawl back into bed, the shade is pulled against the brilliance, the room darkeneda scene clinching their camaraderie. A totally satisfying story for small groups or individuals.Wendy Lukehart, Dauphin County Library, Harrisburg, PA

School Library Journal

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.

Carolyn Phelan

A quiet, solid mood piece with a quiet, solid protagonist, who becomes a hero simply by doing his job every day. The soft prose and starlit illustrations evoke the paperboy's suburban world, as he tiptoes past the bedroom doors of his sleeping family and bikes with his dog through the chilly predawn air. The paperboy is black and, in these paintings, looks a little like another solitary hero, Peter, in Ezra Jack Keats's The Snowy Day (1962). The paperboy's story has a satisfying roundness, beginning and ending in the snug warmth of his bed. The paper route interrupts his dream life, but also extends it: It gives him time to think about the big and little things in his day. When dawn comes it is a celebration, a daily miracle, and the whole book brightens its hue. Pilkey (The Hallow-Wiener, 1995, etc.) may have created a throwback to a simpler time by presenting work as a desirable activity for children; this book is a gentle salve for the instability in so much of modern life.

Kirkus Reviews

★ "Pilkey is at his best in this highly atmospheric work." — Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ "Beautifully composed landscapes and interiors... An evocative mood piece." — Booklist, starred review

"A totally satisfying story for small groups or individuals." — School Library Journal

From the Publisher