It’s May! It’s May!
The lovely month of May!
That darling month when everyone goes
Blissfully astray. . .
(Okay, I confess to monkeying about with those lyrics a bit to make them acceptable for this G-rated blog, but you get the idea. . . 😊)
It’s also Perfect Picture Book Friday, and today’s pick is celebrating its Book Birthday today, so HAPPY BOOK BIRTHDAY!!! 🎉🎉🎉
It is here just in time for the Field Day season (although unfortunately, due to the current state of the world, a lot of Field Days may be postponed or cancelled this year.) Kids don’t need Field Day to know about competition, sportsmanship, winning, and losing, though, so Field Day or no Field Day they will enjoy Evie’s story. 😊
Title: Evie’s Field Day
Written By: Claire Noland
Illustrated By: Alicia Teba
Cardinal Rule Press, May 2020, fiction
Suitable For Ages: 5-7
Themes/Topics: good sportsmanship
Opening: “Evie loved to win.
She could jump the highest,
run the fastest, and hop
the farthest.”
Brief Synopsis: (From the publisher) “Evie loves to run, jump, hop, and win. She even has ribbons and trophies to prove it. So, when the school’s field day comes around, she is sure she will add to her winning collection. When Evie finds herself ahead of the pack, she is faced with an important decision. Does she choose the chance at a trophy or the chance to be a good friend?”
Links To Resources: Jump Rope Rhymes; Fun active games (that you can play indoors or in your yard while we’re #stayingathome)
Why I Like This Book: This book celebrates competition, teamwork, consideration for others, and being a good sport, while also giving young readers the opportunity to think about how to be a good loser. In addition, since it’s about field day, it models activity and physical fitness. I like that Evie is a little too competitive, a little too full of herself at the beginning. It makes her a believable kid and gives her room to learn and grow by the end of the story. All kids take part in school games, competition, Field Day, and/or sports on some level at some point and will appreciate and benefit from this book. 😊
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do 😊
For the complete list of books with resources, please visit Perfect Picture Books.
PPBF folks, please add your titles and post-specific links (and any other info you feel like filling out 🙂 ) to the form below so we can all come see what fabulous picture books you’ve chosen to share this week!
Have a wonderful weekend, everyone!!! 😊
Susanna Leonard Hill 
What a great book choice for this time of the year! Even though children are at home during this time, they are still thinking about their end-of-the-year school activities and this fits right in. Plus, the theme resonates clearly with children.The illustrations capture the text to the tee with the beautifully drawn facial expressions. What a great book to start this month of May!
I have very fond memories of “sports day” at my daughters’ school in England, especially as our son was born the morning of sports day, the first year we lived there. Can’t wait to read this new picture book, as the title and illustrations brought back so many happy memories.
Happy May Day; this one looks ABSOLUTELY looks ADORABLE. I am SO drawn to the incredible illustrations.
Happy, happy May! This is my PPBF choice for today also — great minds! 🙂
Running fast is fun. Nobody knows that better than me! But…. Choose to be a friend, Evie! Prizes wear thin. Friends can last forever!
Love and licks,
Cupcake
Looking forward to reading this one!
This book makes me itch to go outside, even though I was never one of those kids who needed to learn how to be a good loser, since, well, I was the one who was usually doing the losing, LOL. This sounds like a timely, and fun, book. Great pick, Susanna!
Love that cover! Perfect timing for kids wanting to be outside! Such an uplifting share today. Great illustrations!
yay for May and Field Days!
Hooray for May! I hope everyone can get out and play! Susanna, thanks for sharing Evie’s Field Day.