Lyon, George Ella. The
Pirate of Kindergarten. Ill. by Lynne Avril. New York: Atheneum Books for
Young Readers, 2010.
ISBN: 978-1-4169-5024-0
Plot Summary:
Ginny is in Kindergarten and “loves Reading Circle,” but she
sees two of everything, including words.
When she reads aloud, her classmates laugh at her because she says the
words twice - just like she sees them.
Sometimes she trips over chairs because she’s not sure which chairs are
really there. Ginny wonders if her
classmates see two of everything also.
Then the school performs vision screening and the nurse discovers that
Ginny has something called “double vision” that causes her to see two of
everything. Ginny’s mother takes her to
the eye doctor where “just exercises, glasses, and for a while, a patch” are
prescribed to fix her double vision.
Ginny wears the patch confidently and becomes the “Kindergarten Pirate”
who “does numbers, and scissors, … and reads and reads and reads.”
Critical Analysis:
In this Schneider Family Book Award winner, George Ella Lyon shares a lovely story based on events from her childhood. She conveys the story of Ginny’s vision
difficulties with insight and empathy.
She accurately portrays the world from Ginny’s point of view,
accompanied by the brilliant mixed media illustrations of Lynne Avril. Just as Ginny sees two of everything in the
beginning, so the reader experiences this also as the illustrations are blurry
and contain doubles. After Ginny’s visit
to the eye doctor, the illustrations are clear and vibrant. The vivid and bold pictures convey the
confidence that Ginny feels as the “Kindergarten Pirate” after her vision is
being corrected. This is an important
story to be told, but especially for young readers who have vision
difficulties.
Review Excerpts:
“Based
on Lyon’s own experience, the sensitively written story radiates empathy and
good humor. Even children who have not experienced Ginny’s problem will
understand her occasional frustration and find it intriguing that one person
can literally see the world differently from another.” ~Booklist
“Lyon's short,
descriptive sentences set up the situation deftly, and Avril's astute chalk,
pencil, and acrylic drawings of "two of everything" provide a vivid
window into Ginny's pre-treatment world. It is not until the end of the story
that Ginny declares herself a pirate, but as a metaphor for confidence and
competence, her patch effectively declares her to be captain of her own ship.”
~School Library Journal
Awards:
Schneider Family Book Award
Connections:
**Other books about children with disabilities:
Same, Same but
Different by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw
Ian’s Walk: A Story
About Autism by Laurie Lears
Understanding Sam and
Asperger Syndrome by Clarabelle van Niekerk
**Books about children with vision challenges:
Jacob’s Eye Patch
by Beth Kobliner Shaw
The Patch by
Justina Chen Headley
My Travelin’ Eye
by Jenny Sue Kostecki-Shaw
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