You Never Heard Of Sandy Koufax?! (2009) - Plot & Excerpts
I had heard of Sandy Koufax prior to this book. I could tell you he was something to do with baseball and that's about all. I may not have even gotten the sport right, but I knew he was an athlete.Now, however, I can tell you that Koufax earned his star status as a Dodger through hard, hard work. He was Jewish, and proud to be so in a time and place that didn't necessarily accept him. He had lots of potential as a youth but once he made it to the major leagues he didn't get the chance to really explore that potential, so he asked to be worked more. He threw wild pitches but once he finally relaxed and let himself do what he did, he became a force to be reckoned with. Not bad for someone who "kinda sorta knew" who he was, and it's thanks to this book.While this isn't an "on the day he was born" biography, we do get a snapshot of his youth before turning our attention to his career as a Dodger through his retirement. Throughout, we learn about who Sandy Koufax was as a person, not just a baseball player. That he was proud of his heritage and knew that hard work was the only way to compete. Very good sentiments to convey to today's children.When I first read this, I didn't notice all the details of the illustrations. Once I did, I loved them. I loved how Dodger blue was the primary color and tied into that was the gold you can see in the first picture of Koufax's glove. Add a bit of the red found on the Dodger uniform and that completes the color palette--everything else is in muted, grey-ish colors. (Although check out the red in the illustration when Koufax does relax!)Put it together and you have a great book that's sure to interest sports fans and not-really-sports fans (like myself) because Koufax is a really interesting character that I'm glad received some attention from the Winter/Carrilho team.Recommended, grades 1 to 2 and up. This non-fiction picture book about Sandy Koufax uses slang (instead of proper grammar) and interesting pictures to help bring to life the biography/memoir of Sandy's baseball career. I was a little put off by the poor grammar which sounds more like someone who is uneducated is talking to me instead of me reading a book. Although, it is annoying to read at first, I think it is a technique that helps biographies seem less boring and more real. It can entice children to enjoy biographies a little bit more because it can be more interesting to read. I recommend this book to read to children to expose them to non-fiction, baseball, or Sandy Koufax.
What do You think about You Never Heard Of Sandy Koufax?! (2009)?
While I knew of Sandy Koufax I am too young to have really known his career. This is a great book!
—aliza96
I enjoyed this biography written for young people.
—duli
