Picture Book Pups: Reviewing Leonard Kessler classics

Kick, Pass and Run

First published in 1966, Kick, Pass and Run is one of Leonard Kessler’s more famous works.

Storyline

A strange object has found its way into the woods. Rabbit was the first one of the animals to hear it. Duck was the first one of the animals see it. Cat was the first one to touch it.

Dog asked the question on everyone’s minds: “What is it?”

“It’s an egg!” Owl said, positive he was correct. When Turtle points out that it definitely isn’t an elephant’s egg, Owl amends this to being a brown bear’s egg.

Duck thinks this is one of the silliest things she’s ever heard. Before they can figure out what it actually is, they hear someone coming into the woods and all hide.

It’s a boy, wearing funny clothes (though most human clothes are funny to animals). “Hey, I found it! Here’s our football!”

“What’s a football?” Shrugs. “A football is a football,” Owl stated wisely, which was hard to argue with.

Dog suggests they go into town to see what the boys do with the football, which seemed like a good plan.

On a big grassy field they saw two teams of boys. One team was the Giants, and the other team was the Jets.

“I’m for the Jets,” Duck decided. “I’m for the Giants,” Rabbit replied. “I am for QUIET!!!” Owl hissed.

The game got started with the opening kickoff, and Duck tackles Rabbit because it looks like fun, much to Cat’s annoyance.

The Giants eventually score a touchdown, which Cat figures out is worth six points, and the animals decide to try this fun-looking game themselves.

Dog, Cat, Rabbit, Turtle and Frog are the Giants, while Owl, Duck and the three nameless little birds are the Jets. They decide to use an apple for a football, since it’s handy.

Dog, playing quarterback, hands the apple off on a running play, which travels around to everyone on the team until Frog is piled on by the Jets.  The football disappears because Frog ate it, much to everyone else’s annoyance.

Owl finds a brown paper bag that can work as a replacement, and play begins again.

The Jets get the ball when the game restarts, only for an argument to break out between Duck and Rabbit over whether Duck can fly with the ball (she can’t, since that wouldn’t be fair). She throws a fit and threatens to leave, but is eventually talked back into the game.

Her impulsivity leads to a kickoff attempt, ignoring Owl’s protests. And so the paper bag explodes and that’s the end of the game.

Or is it?

Rabbit hears something, and Cat catches something – the real football! He dashes downfield and no one else can catch him, leading to a touchdown for the Giants.

Then another noise is heard. It’s the boy again. “Huh. How did the football get all the way out here?”

Our thoughts

We love this idea – animals who can talk and play sports? YES! And their game goes how many pickup games in the backyard go – arguments, rules changed for fairness and adapted to the playing conditions, etc.

This book is dedicated to famous college and pro football players, including Heisman Trophy winner Doc Blanchard, head coach Paul Brown, and the Cleveland Browns and New York Giants quarterbacks Otto Graham and YA Tittle.

The American Football League was still fully a thing when this book was published, and the first Super Bowl hadn’t happened yet.

There’s also a selection of typical football cheers (which have gotten much more sophisticated over the years), and a glossary of basic terms of the game.

This is an excellent introduction to anyone wanting to learn about the basics of the game, and a super fun read as well. 14/10 would recommend. But as LaVar Burton would said on Reading Rainbow, you don’t have to take our word for it…