The Paperboy

Starred review from March 4, 1996
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.

Starred review from March 1, 1996
Gr 1-3-A 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 darkened-a scene clinching their camaraderie. A totally satisfying story for small groups or individuals.-Wendy Lukehart, Dauphin County Library, Harrisburg, PA

Starred review from March 1, 1996
Ages 3^-6. 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. ((Reviewed March 1, 1996))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1996, American Library Association.)