Willie Wins

by Almira A. Gilles, Carl Angel (Illustrator)

Overview

In this heart-warming story, a boy gets beyond peer pressure and comes to appreciate the depth of his father's love. First-time author Almira Astudillo Gilles teams up with artist Carl Angel to create an inspiring and suspenseful story. Young readers will be cheering for Willie all the way.

Willie is having a rough day. He has already struck out in a Little League game, and now he must find a savings bank for a contest at school - by tomorrow! Dad has just the answer. It's an alkansiya, a bank made out of a coconut shell from the Philippines, where Dad grew up. He's been saving it for Willie because of a surprise inside, a treasure Dad got when he was a boy.

Willie reluctantly takes the bank to school, knowing he will be teased by his classmates for having such an unusual bank. In the weeks that follow, Willie works hard at saving his play money to win the contest. But as he works he also wonders, what will the surprise in his bank be? Is it really something special?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781600602375
Publisher:	Lee & Low Books
Publication date:	05/01/2002
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.50(d)
Lexile:	590L (what's this?)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Almira Astudillo Gilles writes fiction, poetry, plays, and essays for children, young adults, and adults. A native of the Philippines, she came to the United States for graduate study. Willie Wins was Gilles' first book for young readers. She lives in Palatine, Illinois, with her husband and thier children.

Carl Angel is a visual artist who enjoys participating in the creation of narrative media—whether it is illustration, design, or independent films. He has illustrated, designed, and art directed numerous books for young readers, including Lakas and the Manilatown Fish, Willie Wins, and Xochitl and the Flowers / Xóchitl, la Niña de las Flores, among others. He lives with his wife and son in Burbank, California. Visit his site at carlangel.com

Editorial Reviews

"There's a real story here with tension and surprise, and Angel's bright acrylic paintings show the father-son bond close-up." — Booklist

"A tender but vital tribute to a father's love and a son's faith . . . . An understated pearl of a story...with two affecting characterizations and an exemplary bond of love." — Kirkus Reviews

Best Children's Books of the Year - Bank Street College of Education

From the Publisher

A tender but vital tribute to a father's love and a son's faith, as well as a gratifying sleeve across a bully's windpipe, from a talented newcomer. Willie, a young Filipino boy, must bring a bank to class for saving the play money his teacher will be handing out for extra work. His father gives him an alkansiya-a coconut-shell bank from the Philippines-but Willie worries that Stan, the class bad boy, will give him grief about it, just as he has been teasing him for striking out at baseball. "Plus, there's something special inside," his father says. So Willie puts up with Stan's jeers ("That's a loser's bank. It's ugly, and I'll bet it's empty, too") while nonetheless he harbors a trace of fear that his father's surprise will be something silly or that "only Dad thought was special, like the wooden water buffalo he kept on his desk." Willie works likes the dickens over the month and when it comes time to crack open the bank, not only has he earned the most money, but the special treasure inside the bank turns out to be very special indeed. An understated pearl of a story, humbly and somewhat awkwardly illustrated in deep-colored acrylics, with two affecting characterizations and an exemplary bond of love. (Picture book. 4-7)

Kirkus Reviews