JAIME ADOFF
*writer*poet*rock n roller*

As all those petite, wannabe-tall yet slow-to-grow youngsters know, life as a small fry can have its disadvantages. Each of Adoff’s 19 free-verse poems tells a different, complete story and describes, often in a rapping rhythm, various scenarios with which kids of all sizes will identify. Augmented by Reed’s richly colored pastel/crayon drawings, each first-person voice expresses the frustrations of children who must contend with bullies or the dreaded “you have to be this tall…to ride me” amusement-park signs. Whether it’s having Dad bring encyclopedia volumes to the movies to see “high above these big head trees” or cannily choosing a sport that capitalizes on “my four foot frame” to “DODGE the / BALL / like it wasn’t there at all” or, as “Small Soldier,” accomplishing “my mission, almost impossible” to retrieve, commando style, the Wiffle ball from one enormous and ferocious-looking bulldog’s doghouse, a positive attitude can cut the world of big and tall right down to a manageable size. Cathartic and encouraging fun. (Picture book/poetry. 6-8)KIRKUS REVIEW

Small Fry.
Adoff, Jaime (Author) , Reed, Mike (Illustrator)
Nov 2008. 32 p. Dutton, hardcover, $16.99. (9780525469353). 811.

This collection of 19 poems zooms in from the viewpoint of kids considered to be “small fry.” There’s the
boy whose dad brings an encyclopedia volume for him to sit on in the movie theater so he can see “above
the big head trees.” In “Air Shortness,” a boy is too short for basketball but just right for dodge ball; the
four lines in “No Fun Allowed!” express how the kid misses the height requirement for the carnival ride;
and “Small Soldier” demonstrates the seemingly impossible mission of rescuing a Wiffle ball from
Bongo’s doghouse. First-person voices, rhymes, and free verse tap into the feelings of looking up to big
sister, being first in line for ice cream but chosen last for the team, and paying the lunch-money bully with
Monopoly bills. Expressive, soft-edged illustrations are spot-on at capturing motions and emotions of kids
who are height-challenged. Remember: “There are no small ball players. / Just small bats.”- BOOKLIST— Julie Cummins