Leonard Kessler is one of the underrated heroes of children’s literature, particularly when it comes to picture books.
Leonard Kessler isn’t the first name that comes to mind when thinking of author/illustrators in children’s literature, but narrow the focus to picture books, and he’s definitely up there, especially if you zoom in even closer by thinking of “picture books featuring dogs.”
Kessler has illustrated over 200 books, and written many of those titles, according to his publisher HarperCollins. He’s probably best known for Mr. Pine’s Purple House and Here Comes the Strikeout.
In this edition of our “Picture Book Pups” series of book reviews, we’re going to look at three of his works today: 1966’s Kick, Pass and Run, 1980’s Super Bowl and 1972’s On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!
Wesley’s grandmother Linda worked for several years at a university library, and she played an important role in his love of reading and writing stories. Two of these Leonard Kessler books were ones that she would read aloud to me often when I would visit, so much so that one day she made photocopies of both books and colored in the pictures with crayon so that I would always have a copy to read.
The third, On Your Mark, Get Set, Go!, was found at a library book sale years later, and picked up immediately because it was a Leonard Kessler featuring his recurring animal characters.
Since it would have been Linda’s 72th birthday this past Wednesday, it seemed like a perfect time to review these books.
While Kessler wasn’t incredibly creative with naming his characters, they all have distinct personalities. For example, there’s the bossy Owl, the impulsive Duck, the irritable and wise Turtle and the calm Dog,
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…
Super Bowl
Super Bowl, from 1980, is one of Leonard Kessler’s lesser-known works, but is very interesting in the amount of detail in the world-building.
Storyline
It’s time for the biggest game of the year – the Super Bowl of the woods! The Animal Champs – consisting of player/coach Dog, Cat, Turtle, Frog, Rabbit and Raccoon – are facing off against the Super Birds – player/coach Owl, Duck, Gull, Crow, Chicken and Goose.
Worm is the Animal Champs cheerleader, while the three little birds are the Super Birds spirit squad.
A week before the big game, the Animal Champs are working on a secret play during practice, while Duck is always late to the Super Birds’ practices because her alarm clock isn’t working.
When the game begins, the Super Birds receive the kickoff, and Duck promptly fumbles. On the Animal Champs’ ensuing possession, a razzle dazzle play means Turtle finds his way into the end zone, and Rabbit’s foot makes it a 7-0 game after the extra point.
Just before halftime, Super Birds quarterback Owl throws a long pass to Gull, who runs into the end zone after Frog misinterpreted Cat’s instructions to “watch that Gull,” thinking he said “watch that girl.” (An easy mistake to make.) Crow tied the game at 7-7 with the extra point.
After receiving the second half kickoff, the Animal Champs were unable to move the ball, punting it back to the Super Birds. Fox the referee calls offsetting penalties on Goose and Turtle for unsportmanslike conduct (for kicking and hitting, respectively).
Duck catches a long pass, but steps into a water bucket and fumbles, and Dog pounces on the loose football with two minutes left to play.
In the huddle, Dog calls the secret play, a long route for Frog, which goes for the game-winning touchdown. After Rabbit’s extra point, the Animal Champs win the Super Bowl by a 14-7 score.
Duck’s teammates console her with the facts that none of them played especially well, and that second place is still a very good season.
While the Animal Champs holler “We’re number one!”, the Super Birds holler back with a message of their own: “Wait til next year!”
Our thoughts
If you grow up obsessed with sports and loving animals, then this was pretty much as perfect a book as the Air Bud series were movies.
This is as big an event for the animals as the Puppy Bowl is for dogdom, which is understandable, and the action beginning before the game starts was a good move.
Throughout this book the yells of the cheerleaders add a lot to the atmosphere of the woods, while the crowd includes cows, foxes and birds of all kinds.
On Your Mark, Get Set, Go! The First All-Animal Olympics
Leonard Kessler’s On Your Mark, Get Set, Go! The First All-Animal Olympics was published in 1972, and it’s a good story with nice pictures.
Storyline
A copy of the sports section from the New York Times has wandered into the forest, featuring stories about the 1972 Olympics from Munich.
Turtle and Owl between them figure out that the paper is talking about “Olympic Games,” which aren’t like football or baseball (at some point the animals learned baseball, too) seem to be full of races – running races, hopping races, and jumping races.
Rabbit suggests that the animals host their own Olympics, which everyone else thinks is a good idea, though someone insults Duck and she waddles off in a huff for a bit.
Since Olympic Games are a kind of game, obviously they must have teams, so Duck and Dog partner up as the Yankees, Frog and Rabbit are the Tigers, and Cat and Turtle are the Pirates.
Owl decides to be the coach, and the three little birds (who are nameless, like Woodstock’s friends) are the starter and judges. Ants make up the starting line, and Spider agrees to spin the finish line.
Worm is picked as the cheerleader and general reserve in case someone drops out.
Owl then leads everyone in a training regimen of good sleep, proper eating, doing push-ups, running, skipping, hopping and jumping.
On the day of the first hurdle race, Rabbit won for the Tigers, Dog was second because he stayed up too late the night before, and Turtle was third after crawling under all the hurdles, since he can’t jump too well.
In the second race, which involved hopping, Cat won for the Pirates, followed by Duck, while Frog never left the starting line after overeating.
Then it’s time for the big relay race, only the Yankees can’t find a stick to use as a baton, so Worm gets drafted as a stick, which she’s thrilled about.
Duck zoomed to the lead after the handoff, only to fall into a mud puddle. But Worm scooted away towards the finish line and just beat Cat to win the race.
Everyone else gives her a big cheer, though Frog grouses that it’s the first time he ever saw a stick win a race. “I’m not a stick, I’m a Yankee!” Worm retorts.
It was the greatest Olympics ever held in the woods, and as Owl said in a speech afterwards, “Everybody did something, and everybody learned something.”
Our thoughts
Of course is would be the greatest Olympics ever held in the woods, because it was the first edition…but anyway, this is a nice read promoting the value and importance of determination and patience.
Also, it makes perfect sense that just seeing pictures in a newspaper, an Olympics would be all about races of various kinds, because the ancient Olympics were (then they added wrestling at some point).
The modern Olympics, begun in 1896, were also mostly races of different types.
It’s nice that Kessler dedicated the book in part to famous Olympians, including marathoner Kip Keino and the legendary pair of Babe Didrikson and Jesse Owens.
We hope you’ve enjoyed reading our recaps; what are some of your favorite picture books starring dogs?