Common Sense Media Review
By Patricia Tauzer
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Classic poem played out on the basketball court.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 5+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
\"The Jabberwocky\" poem by Lewis Carroll, written in nonsense words, is re-imagined here as a story about a 14-fingered beast who takes his prowess onto the basketball court. The beast is figuratively \"slain\" by a beamish boy who takes him on in a game of one-on-one.
Is It Any Good?
With broad strokes, bright colors, and words that shout from the page, the inner city summer comes alive in this reinvention of the Jabberwocky. When Alice first heard the Jabberwocky in Through the Looking Glass, she didn't know what to think. "It seems very pretty ... but it's rather hard to understand!" she commented. And, most readers would agree, even in this new modern version set on an inner city basketball court. But somehow, through the rhythms and with a little help from the illustrations, even the youngest reader will get it.
In this version, re-imagined by the award-winning talent of Christopher Myers, nonsense makes sense. Though the words don't always fit the story perfectly, the rhythms pull them through, and Lewis Carroll's poem takes on the personality of an energetic rap song. And the basketball court seems the perfect setting. The 14-fingered basketball player who dominates the courts as well as the entire playground is as scary a Jabberwock monster as could be imagined. And, after the "beamish" boy challenges, and beats, him, the neighborhood celebrates: CALLOOH! CALLAY! as the hero struts off "chort[ling] in his joy."
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about reading and re-reading this poem book, which lends itself to dramatic play and surprising interpretation. What exactly is a "jabberwocky?" Or, for that matter, what do any of the other words mean? Besides discussing the nonsensical words, note the rhythms. And, of course, play with the basic question: How can we follow the story that is told in words we don't understand?
Book Details
- Author :
- Illustrator : Christopher Myers
- Genre : Picture Book
- Book type : Fiction
- Publisher : Jump at the Sun
- Publication date : September 4, 2007
- Number of pages : 32
- Last updated : January 6, 2026
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