The Adventures of Sparrowboy

by Brian Pinkney

SOMETHING MYSTERIOUS IS ABOUT TO HAPPEN ON THURBER STREET... WILL THE EVENTS OF ONE AFTERNOON CHANGE HENRY'S LIFE FOREVER? Written and illustrated by Caldecott Honor artist Brian Pinkney, this award-winning story introduces a new superhero -- Sparrowboy, a paperboy who takes the neighborhood under his wing and saves the day.

Genres: Picture Books, African American, Adventure, Superheroes, Childrens, Fiction, Fantasy

40 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Born in Boston, Massachusetts, (Jerry) Brian Pinkney was raised in an artistic household. "My two brothers and sister and I played musical instruments, and we were always drawing, painting, or building things," the illustrator once recalled of his childhood. While his mother, children's book author Gloria Jean Pinkney, would inspire all her children with a love of reading, it would be his father, illustrator Jerry Pinkney, who would serve as a mentor to young Brian. "I did everything he did," Pinkney would later admit. "My desk was a miniature version of his desk. The paintbrushes and pencils I used were often the ones from his studio that were too old or too small for him to use. I had a paint set like his and a studio like his. Except my studio was a walk-in closet, which made it the perfect size for me."

Read more: http://www.answers.com/topic/jerry-br...

According to the book back flap, he has played the drums since he was eight years old. He still keeps a set of drumsticks in his studio where, when resting from his illustrations, he sometimes taps out rhythms on the back of his chair.

With his wife, writer Andrea Davis Pinkney, he makes his home in Brooklyn NY.

Reviews

[Agnė · Rating 3 out of 5]

Both fantastic and down-to-earth (not literally though :)) adventure of a paperboy who unexpectedly gains super powers, told mostly in comic book style and colorful Brian Pinkney's signature scratchboard and gouache illustrations:

[Jennifer (JenIsNotaBookSnob) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love Pinkney's art. It's always wonderful. I just really enjoy almost everything he illustrates. His "Three Billy Goats Gruff" is now my favorite version of that.

I didn't really enjoy the story of this, it's a bit choppy for my liking. But, it is supposed to be sort of in the style of a comic book, so, I get it.

I do think kids would enjoy this, what kid hasn't daydreamed of being capable of stopping a bully?

I sort of felt like too much was put into this, like the story was a bit rushed. But, Pinkney's illustrations are great and the pacing probably works fine for kids who are the target audience anyways.

[Dolly · Rating 3 out of 5]

Scratchboard illustrations rendered with transparent dyes and gouache create dramatic scenes in this comic book-styled picture book about fighting bullies and other dangers in society.

Some of the details are a bit too vague and undefined for my taste, but overall, the effect creates texture and depth to the images.

I like that the author shows how a 'victim' in one scenario can become a 'perpetrator' in another. This effectively shows that people are rarely all good or all bad.

Overall, I enjoyed the story, but it's not one of my favorites by Mr. Pinkney. The diversity of the story is great and perhaps children will gravitate to the superhero theme, but it doesn't do much for me.

This book was selected as one of the books for the July 2018 - Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Picture Book Winners 1991-1999 discussion at the Picture-Book Club in the Children's Books Group here at Goodreads.

[Kathy Davie · Rating 5 out of 5]

A standalone action adventure for readers four years of age and up with a young African-American paperboy with compassion.

In 1997, The Adventures of Sparrowboy won the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for Picture Book.

My Take
I love it! I love it! Just what every "kid" would love, to suddenly achieve a superpower. And I absolutely loved how Pinkney segued into Henry achieving power. A nice parallel plot device there.

They're simple, if scary!, events that afternoon, related in third-person objective point-of-view, and exactly what your child could encounter in his or her own neighborhood with Henry a wonderful example of how a person should react.

Even more amazing is what Henry discovers in that surprise ending. Parents will love the opportunity to talk about how Henry saved the day as well as debate what they would have done at the end.

The graphics are an odd combination of stark and colorful, geometric and swirling.

The Story
A mysterious encounter on Thurber Street will change Henry's life forever.

The Characters
Henry is a paperboy with a heart, who loves to read the front page…and then the comics. Boy after me own heart.

Trooper Mark Steed is also Falconman, a superhero sworn to defend the defenseless, and Henry's hero. Sparrow is a small bird Henry encounters.

Will and Matt are troublesome twins. Dawn has a kitty. Bruno is the neighborhood bully; Wolf is his dog.

The Cover and Title
The cover has the look of a woodcut with a pale yellow sky and swirling scratches of pastels and blacks to create wind-driven clouds. The central figure is Henry in his red puffy jacket and blue swirl'a pants, a yellow bicycle helmet, and rolls of newspapers in a bag on his back, standing in that superhero pose with hands on hips. The title soars across the top with the first three letters in red outlined in black while the last word of the title is in a three-dimensional blue-green with blue and black shadow colors. The author's name is in black in a shadowed orange rectangle at the lower right.

The title is an afternoon of The Adventures of Sparrowboy.

[Nanell Harris · Rating 3 out of 5]

- This book reminds me of the newspaper comics and I love it. My uncle use to love getting the papers and going straight to the comic section, it was something I learned to enjoy. Henry’s encounter with this sparrow gave him flying abilities just like the comics he read in the paper. He delivered the newspapers and help his neighbors and a little birdie along the way. This is a really fun story thats has adventure and action seen in the illustrations and the text. A cool book to have for those kids who may be into comics or not.

[Amy Layton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written and drawn in a mostly comicbook format, Sparrowboy follows the life of a boy who finds inspiration in a comic hero who looks similar to him (representation matters!).  While reminiscent of typical comic format, Pinkney definitely brings in a new artistic style to truly make it his own.  This book is great for a fun romp, perfect for reading on a sunny afternoon after school is let out!

Review cross-listed here!

[Mickayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grade range: 1-3
Genre: Modern Fantasy
I think most little boys would love this book. It's set up comic book style and goes through all of the adventures Sparrowboy goes on while still on his paper route. I believe this book would be more difficult to read aloud, but it's still a wonderful read.

[wendy cortright · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a wonderful, quickly read fantasy/scifi adventure which I adore! Sparrowboy is written much like a comic book or graphic novel format and illustrated by Brian Pinkney. The medium that Pinkney used for this book, it says on the back dust jacket flap, is called scratchboard and is gorgeous! I can't wait to read this with my first graders! What a fantastic introduction into science-fiction!

[Lu · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story is weak but the illustrations are great.

I really like this rough illustration style where you see every line that made the pictures. It's almost like shading or hatching + crosshatching.



Aladdin Paperbacks - imprint of Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing Division

[Jane · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was torture to get through. If I hadn’t been reading it to a kid who was super into it, I would’ve quit halfway through.

[Wetdryvac · Rating 4 out of 5]

Love the art. The story, less so, but still fun.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pinkney's friendly neighborhood Sparrowboy will inspire young heroes to do their part.

[Joey Starr · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book about sparrowboy plays into the imagination of children and how they would love to be a super hero. I liked the way that the book would start as a picture book and then go into a comic strip.

Guided reading: M
DRA Level: 24
Traits: voice, presentation, idea

[Nomad nimrod · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring.

[Cecile · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to like this because it is difficult to locate black superheroes for children, however, the introduction of magic makes it a non-starter.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

A mild-mannered paperboy gets to have some heroic adventures with the help of (and by helping) a sparrow. Fun. Could be a good bridge to comics, and hearkens to some of that format.

[Sam W · Rating 2 out of 5]

A children's twisit on a comic book....just leaves me thinking what the heck?

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oh man, I can hear the kids pestering their parents right now - but if the boy had magical powers from the sparrow, did the sparrow lose his powers of flight? Will the boy be able to be sparrowboy again? What if he becomes something else next time, like cat boy? What if I became cat boy? Or dog boy or sparrow boy?
A story that kids three and up will like,that age where they start to really try on ideas, especially the boys with the super hero leanings. It has the feeling of a story told off the cuff - the kind of story a Dad makes up while driving his kids to karate class. And while I am sure Mr. Pinkney put a lot more thought into it, it's precisely that on the fly (no pun intended, sparrowboy) feel that will appeal and invite the wheels to turn in the brain - which will lead to those wonderful if annoying pestering questions that show you your kid is thinking even if you sort of wish he would think more quietly.

[Heather Barrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a short graphic novel for younger grade children. Some children might feel like it is easier to read then a "real" book because it does not have as many words as many stories do. It is set up similar to a comic with pictures and the story told in panels. Some of the frames do not even have any words to go with the picture. Due to this many feel that a comic or graphic novel is not true reading. On the contrary, graphic novels (and comic books) are a good tool to use for reluctant readers. They offer few words but the frames that do not have words are left so that the reader has to decide what the story is. This leads to the reader making up a story to fit the wordless parts of the story which is a form of reading...reading the pictures.

[Elizabeth Leonard · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story of a paper boy that idolizes a superhero named falcon boy. When suddenly during one of his paper routes he gains the ability to fly. he then goes around the neighborhood helping people that need it. He comes to realize that he may have took the ability to fly from a sparrow. Henry then gives the power back to the sparrow so that he can get away from all the dangers in his life.
This story is written in a comic book style and could be interesting to many boys and girls that like comic books. This book is a great way to get students to read if they like to read magazines or comic books.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is really good book for kids who are interested in comics at a young age. The boy is delivering papers when he is zapped with the power to fly like his hero Falconman. He uses his powers for good to stop the evil in his town. The graphics are really unique, just like a comic book. The storyline is ok, not what I expected, very elementary. Great book for early elementary, more of a picture book than anything.

[Ryan Gray · Rating 4 out of 5]

To me The Adventures of Sparrowboy closely resembled a comic book for young children. This book would be great for young boys who are already into super heroes. It had comic like illustrations that would definitely grab the attention of any boy in their early childhood. The story is about a boy who receives the power to fly from a bird. As with any super hero he uses these powers for good to protect from evil around his town. Definitely a good read for young boys.

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story is presented partly in double- and single-page spreads, and partly in comic strip panels, as a young paperboy is zapped with sparrow power and defends his neighborhood against bullies--human and animal. The illustrations were rendered in scratchboard, transparent dyes, and gouache. They are energetic and do a great job of moving this humorous and satisfying story forward.

[Jackie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wishing to be just like his hero, Falconman, Henry sees wrongs he wants to make right. When a tiny sparrow crosses his path, he suddenly has the ability to fly...and fly, he does, into danger's path, in order to make wrongs right.

An early introduction into sequential art, The Adventures of Sparrowboy gives readers a look into the life of a superhero.

[Brooke Carr]

In an effort to expose my child to different media types, I picked this book up since it has a graphic novel style layout. My child is 3 and found the format a little difficult at first, but once she understood how to follow along she enjoyed the story. We've read it multiple times now and she seems to like the story.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this story, and parts of the illustrations here are done in a comic-book style, which works. But the rest of the illustrations were just not inspiring for me, so this is more of a 3.5 rating.

[Jodi Young · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story was nice and simple. In the classroom this book will mostly be used to discuss bullies and how to protect people/animals. And how bullies can be anyone -- even a cat! Nice book to be used during transitions too, it has nice pictures.

[Lucius · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fun book that shows that being a hero isn't always about saving the world, but can also include helping a little bird in need. As a comic book reader, the mixture of picture book and comic book worked well for me.

[Claire Shanahan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a story about a young paperboy who gains the power/ability to fly from a bird. It is a picture book that is drawn in a graphic novel/cartoon form. Excellent read for young boys who like to read about super heros and who like comic books.

[Sarah Truluck · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this book, I think superheroes are cool and it was about a boy dreaming of becoming one and actually becoming a hero for a little bit. I chose this book, because of the fact that I like superheroes and so the title stood out.