Olympig!

May 21, 2012
This underdog story—underpig, actually—suggests that while practice doesn’t always make perfect, it does make good entertainment. Enthusiastic aspiring Olympian Boomer believes, “If you practice and try your best, you can do anything!” Unfortunately, Boomer’s attempt to win one different sporting event after another at the Animal Olympics fails; he is generally able to keep his chins up, but when his cannonball dive bombs, Boomer loses it in a rage-filled tantrum that occupies a full spread. A JumboTron vote of confidence from his mother gives Boomer newfound confidence, however, and in a red, sparkly homemade gymnastics outfit, Boomer is on fire in the final event. No, really. Jamieson (Bea Rocks the Flock) satirizes sports coverage by way of a mean-spirited, cliché-spouting announcer named Mr. Hamstring, who is intent on tearing Boomer down. The acrylic artwork is consistently lively and expressive, playing well with the often-deadpan text (“Boomer took the loss pretty well,” writes Jamieson as the pig is seen wildly sobbing in his track uniform). A humorous romp just in time for the London Olympics. Ages 5–8. Agent: Paul Rodeen, Rodeen Literary Management.

May 1, 2012
The story of a pig, perhaps a tad delusional but all guns and going for Olympic gold. Jamieson's young porker, Boomer, is the first pig to compete in the history of the Animal Olympics. He's a charger--"Hard work and practice make an Olympic champion"--but still a pig: not as strong as the elephant, as speedy as the cheetah or as brawny as the gorilla. A mean-spirited reporter tries to diminish his hopes, yet Boomer can only see gold dancing before his eyes. And they are wonderful eyes, enormously expressive in his great pig head as he proceeds to get trounced in every event. The reporter needles Boomer after every loss, and Boomer finally snaps when his cannonball fails to impress the diving judges: "Who made you the boss? No fair! Lawsuit, buddy!" He quits. But his mother tells him how proud she is, and he returns for a slam-bang finale. Hope springs eternal; it's not winning, but how you play the game; you can't win them all. True, but Boomer makes such a hash of each contest, perhaps it is best just to say that he is a good sport, and good sports make sports good. Though the story doesn't turn any new ground, Jamieson's affective artwork, with its brio and dash, endows Boomer with an attractive personality, no matter his flaws. A salubrious object lesson of playing for playing's sake. (Picture book. 5-8)

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August 1, 2012

K-Gr 3-"If you practice and try your best," says Boomer, "you can do anything!" This cheerfully unrealistic belief carries the piglet through a series of painful and amusing disasters at the summer Animal Olympics. His fellow sprinters include a greyhound and a cheetah; one of the weight lifters is an elephant; and he's easily beaten at pole vaulting by a flying squirrel. But each time Brent Hamstring, discouraging sports reporter, confronts Boomer with the impossibility of his winning any event, the pig bounces back to try again. (Okay, a couple of temper tantrums intervene.) One suspects that his can-do attitude has a lot to do with his mama, who says on camera, "My son may not be perfect, but he is still my special little boy. Boomer...I love you and I am so proud of you!" Jamieson snatches moral victory from the jaws of athletic defeat with warmth, satirical wit, and old-fashioned silliness. Her drawings and formats are wonderfully varied, colorful, and bursting with personality. Subtle, funny commentaries will be appreciated by slightly older readers, stretching Olympig's appeal.-Susan Weitz, formerly at Spencer-Van Etten School District, Spencer, NY

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