The Paperboy (children's book): Difference between revisions

| image = The Paperboy (children's book) cover.jpg

| alt = Cover art of The Paperboy, showing a paperboy riding a bicycle with his dog under the night sky

| pages = 32

| isbn = 978-0-531-09506-5

'''''The Paperboy''''' is a 1996 children's [[picture book]] by American authorwritten and illustratorillustrated by [[Dav Pilkey]]. TheInspired bookby wasPilkey's own experiences as a recipient[[paperboy]], it tells the story of a paperboy and his dog as they deliver newspapers in the early hours of the morning. ''The Paperboy'' received positive reviews from critics and was awarded a 1997 [[Caldecott Honor]] for its illustrations.

An unnamed [[paperboy]] and his faithful dog wake up early each morning, while it is still dark and cold outside and his family is still asleep. After breakfast, the paperboy folds and delivers newspapers, accompanied by his dog; they both find happiness and comfort in the familiar routine. They finish at sunrise as the rest of the world begins to wake up, and they return home to fall asleep and dream.

PilkeyAccording wroteto Pilkey, ''The Paperboy'' was written in fifteen minutes, butalthough he had thought about the idea for the book for two or three years before actually writing itbeforehand.<ref name=SchoolLibraryMonthly>{{cite journal |last=Brodie |first=Carolyn S |title=Dav Pilkey: 1997 Caldecott Honor Award recipient for ''The Paperboy''. |workjournal=School Library Monthly |volume=14 |pages=42-4542–45 |year=1997}}</ref><ref name=Infobase>{{cite book |last1=Abrams |first1=Dennis |title=David "Dav" Pilkey |year=2013 |publisher=[[Infobase Publishing|Infobase Learning]] |isbn=978-1-4381-4659-1 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FchbAgAAQBAJ |access-date=February 6, 2021}}</ref> The story was inspired by Pilkey's own experiences as a paperboy delivering the ''[[Lorain Journal]]''.<ref name=Infobase/><ref>{{cite web |title=In-depth Written Interview with Dav Pilkey |url=https://www.teachingbooks.net/interview.cgi?id=109&a=1 |publisher=[[TeachingBooks.net]] |access-date=February 5, 2021}}</ref> In an interview, he stated: "I liked the independence I felt when it seemed like I was the only person in the whole world who was awake."<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Fales |first=Melissa |title=Dav Pilkey and the Super Sensational Story of His Amazing Author Adventures! |workmagazine=Story Monsters Ink |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A566682476/ITOF |date=August 2016 |pages=4-74–7}}</ref> Pilkey hurriedlyquickly completed the illustrations for ''The Paperboy'' so he could makededicate time forto what was to be his nextsubsequent book, ''[[Dumb Bunnies|Make Way for Dumb Bunnies]]''.<ref name=SchoolLibraryMonthly/>

''The Paperboy'' was published on March 1, 1996, by Orchard Books.<ref name=Kirkus>{{cite web |title=The Paperboy |url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/dav-pilkey/the-paperboy-2/ |publisher=[[Kirkus Reviews]] |access-date=February 5, 2021}}</ref> An [[audiobook]] version, narrated by [[Forest Whitaker]] and accompanied by a short video with animations based on the original illustrations, was released by [[Weston Woods Studios]] in 2000.<ref name=AudioFile>{{cite web |title=The Paperboy |url=https://www.audiofilemagazine.com/reviews/read/10283/the-paperboy-by-dav-pilkey-read-by-forest-whitaker/ |publisher=[[AudioFile (magazine)|AudioFile]] |access-date=February 6, 2021}}</ref><ref name=SLJAudio>{{cite magazine |last=Bateman |first=Teresa |title=The Paperboy |magazine=[[School Library Journal]] |volume=46 |issue=7 |year=2000 |page=49}}</ref>

''The Paperboy'' received positive reviews from critics. ''[[Publishers Weekly]]'' wrote that "Pilkey is at his best" in the book, and praised the illustrations and "the controlled hush of the narrative".<ref>{{cite web |title=The Paperboy |url=https://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-531-09506-5 |publisher=[[Publishers Weekly]] |access-date=February 5, 2021}}</ref> ''[[Kirkus Reviews]]'' called the book "a gentle salve for the instability in so much of modern life" and favorably compared the black paperboy to the protagonist from ''[[The Snowy Day]]'' by [[Ezra Jack Keats]].<ref name=Kirkus/> Carolyn Phelan of ''[[Booklist]]'' wrote that the illustrations included "beautifully composed landscapes and interiors" and were evocative of the art of [[Marc Chagall]].<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Phelan |first1=Carolyn |title=The Paperboy |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A18112073/AONE?sid=AONE&xid=97bf1b5e |access-date=February 5, 2021 |magazine=[[Booklist]] |publisher=[[American Library Association]] |volume=92 |issue=13 |date=March 1, 1996}}</ref> Wendy Lukehart, writing for ''[[School Library Journal]]'', called ''The Paperboy'' a "totally satisfying story", praising Pilkey's "graceful economy of language" and "deep, sumptuous acrylics".<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Lukehart |first1=Wendy |title=Pilkey, Dav. ''The Paperboy''. |journal=[[School Library Journal]] |issue=March 1996 |pages=180–181}}</ref> Mary M. Burns of ''[[The Horn Book Magazine]]'' praised the illustrations"lyrical ascombination of text and pictures" and "rich and inviting in" palette", and called the story "a "meditative evocation of the extraordinary aspects of ordinary living".<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Burns |first=Mary M |title=Pilkey, Dav: The Paperboy |magazine=The Horn Book Guide |publisher=[[The Horn Book Magazine]] |volume=2872 |issue=14 |year=20171996 |page=47453 |url=https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A490854754A18527272/LitRCCPI?sid=LitRCCPI&xid=2cee7809b25aedae |access-date=February 5, 2021}}</ref>

[[Category:Caldecott Honor-winningHonor–winning works]]