I Got It!

by David Wiesner, David Wiesner (Illustrator)

Overview

Three-time Caldecott winner and bestseller David Wiesner works his visual magic in this near-wordless account of the most suspenseful, nerve-wracking few seconds in a baseball game.

David Wiesner brings his trademark artistry and rich imagination to the iconic American game of baseball. The few seconds after the ball leaves the bat can be infinitely long. For this eager young outfielder, there's plenty of time to envision the increasingly fantastic and funny situations that might interfere with making the catch. Summoning determination and courage, he overcomes the imaginary obstacles and turns them into a springboard for success. I Got It! reveals the extraordinary within the ordinary, taking readers on an amazing journey in a few seconds on a baseball field.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780544309029
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	04/03/2018
Pages:	32
Sales rank:	1,066,069
Product dimensions:	10.20(w) x 10.10(h) x 0.40(d)
Age Range:	4 - 7 Years

About the Author

David Wiesner is internationally renowned for his visual storytelling and has won the Caldecott Medal three times—for Tuesday, The Three Pigs, and Flotsam—the second person in history to do so. He is also the recipient of three Caldecott Honors, for Free Fall, Sector 7, and Mr. Wuffles. He lives near Philadelphia with his family. david-wiesner.harpercollins.com

David Wiesner is internationally renowned for his visual storytelling and has won the Caldecott Medal three times—for Tuesday, The Three Pigs, and Flotsam—the second person in history to do so. He is also the recipient of three Caldecott Honors, for Free Fall, Sector 7, and Mr. Wuffles. He lives near Philadelphia with his family. david-wiesner.harpercollins.com

Hometown:

Outside Philadelphia, P.A.

Date of Birth:

February 5, 1956

Place of Birth:

Bridgewater, NJ

Education:

Rhode Island School of Design -- BFA in Illustration.

Website:

http://www.hmhbooks.com/wiesner/

Editorial Reviews

…David Wiesner slows time down and finds a world of drama in those five or so hellish seconds between ball leaving bat and settling—or not—into mitt. Surely even capable athletes will relate to the interplay between body and mind, muscle and emotion, which I Got It! captures with beauty, fluidity, wit and suspense…Like René Magritte, Wiesner has a precise and realistic style that makes his leaps into the weird all the more effective…As with any good wordless picture book, I Got It! should provoke many discussions—not just about doubt and perseverance, but also about creative visual storytelling.

The New York Times Book Review - Bruce Handy

★ 01/29/2018
Three-time Caldecott Medalist Wiesner looks at the interior anxieties of a boy playing baseball with a new crowd of kids. Assigned to the outfield, and with a fly ball heading toward him, the boy imagines himself uttering the words of the title—“I got it!”—but then tripping on a root. In his next vision of failure, a tree keeps him from snagging the ball. More surreal wordless spreads follow, expressions of the boy’s fears of humiliation and determination to succeed—all flashing by in the time it takes the ball to descend. In one, the ball looms, the size of a planet. Then the boy chases through a crowd of giant kids like a Lilliputian, grabbing onto their clothes, hopping from head to head, and—in a final, victorious leap—making the catch: “I got it!” Although this nearly wordless story lacks the comedy of some of his previous creations, Wiesner conveys with startling immediacy how time slows in moments of crisis, and the way that people move back and forth between the outer world of reality and the complicated, many-dimensional world of interior consciousness. Ages 4–7. (Apr.)

Publishers Weekly

"Wiesner’s latest nearly wordless picture book features his trademark hyperrealistic art that makes the ordinary extraordinary with visual narrative twists that are always unexpected, never predictable." — Horn Book Magazine

"The showing of the plausible to wild might- have-beens during that mysteriously long moment before a ball thwacks into a mitt is entertaining, and there’s a clever rhythm in the cutting back to slightly progressed reality (the ball gets closer to the kid’s outstretched hand) after each flight of fancy." — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

From the Publisher

"The showing of the plausible to wild might- have-beens during that mysteriously long moment before a ball thwacks into a mitt is entertaining, and there’s a clever rhythm in the cutting back to slightly progressed reality (the ball gets closer to the kid’s outstretched hand) after each flight of fancy."

Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

"Wiesner’s latest nearly wordless picture book features his trademark hyperrealistic art that makes the ordinary extraordinary with visual narrative twists that are always unexpected, never predictable."

Horn Book Magazine

★ 02/01/2018
PreS-Gr 3—Set against the backdrop of a pick-up baseball game, Wiesner's nearly wordless picture book expertly layers elements of relatable emotion, boundless imagination, eye-popping action, and out-and-out fun. When a lonely boy approaches a group of kids milling around the chain-link backstop, he is quickly sized up by the team captain and sent to the outfield. A crack of the bat later, a fly ball is hurtling its way toward the youngster, who enthusiastically calls out, "I got it!" Easier said than done, as all manner of fantastical obstacles throw themselves in his pathway—everything from suddenly sprouting tree branches to impossible shifts in size (of both ball and boy). Never fear, perseverance and determination win out in the end, and the young protagonist, eyes shining brightly, arm fully extended, and glove reaching to blue sky, is triumphant ("I GOT IT!"). Created in acrylic, gouache, and watercolor, Wiesner's beautifully composed paintings realistically portray his characters, their activities, and their social interactions, making the flights of fancy all the more effective. Any reader who has ever experienced the seemingly endless wait for a fly ball to descend into their open glove (along with the always-present possibility of disaster) will relate to this story. VERDICT A mesmerizing and entertaining offering that will be enjoyed by a broad audience. A must-have addition to sports shelves.—Joy Fleishhacker, Pikes Peak Library District, Colorado Springs

School Library Journal

★ 2018-01-22
A weedy kid in shorts and a T-shirt goes to the sandlot with a glove, hoping to play.Sent to the outfield, the kid waits for a chance. The batter hits a long fly ball that sails that way. The protagonist runs, leaps, and stretches, yelling, "I got it!"—the only words in the book. But the kid trips over some roots, dives, and lands on the ground with the ball just out of reach, while team members cluster around, clutching their heads in disbelief. Wiesner is a master of fantastical wordless (or nearly so) adventures, and what seems to be a simple event becomes a series of might-have-beens and possibilities, playing out several times with different scenarios. A huge tree with protruding roots appears and stops the kid from getting to the ball; several teammates give chase, gloves outstretched, as the protagonist seems to be among them and then flying over them to finally grab the elusive ball: "I GOT IT!" This time it is the batter who's thrown into despair, while the protagonist's team cheers. And what about the birds? Are they just observers or are they somehow affecting the outcome? Sometimes the protagonist is small and the glove and ball are huge as perspective shifts. The scenes are softly painted, growing brighter and sharper after the catch. Readers will interpret it any way they wish, perhaps differently with each perusal. The protagonist has light olive skin and straight black hair, and the other players are racially and gender diverse.Wonderfully imaginative and intriguing. (Picture book. 6-10)

Kirkus Reviews