Luigi and the Barefoot Races - Hardcover

Paley, Dan

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0884483975 ISBN 13: 9780884483977

Publisher: Tilbury House Publishers, 2015

Synopsis

They say Luigi always ran barefoot. And they speak of his greatest challenge--the race nobody thought he could win, not even Luigi himself.

Maybe it's urban legend, or maybe the true events have acquired added luster in Dan Paley's memory. After all, a story this amazing couldn't possibly be true, could it?

• Suffused with nostalgia for soft summer evenings in a city neighborhood, with kids playing in the street, neighbors visiting, twilight seeming like it would never end....
• A tall tale that kids will never tire of.
• Aaron Boyd's colorful illustrations vividly recreate an urban Philadelphia street and its houses, shops, and memorable people.

Fountas & Pinnell Level M

About this title

About the Authors

DAN PALEY is the author of Luigi and the Barefoot Races and has written for the Wall Street Journal, McSweeney's Internet Tendency, and the Philadelphia Inquirer, among other publications.

Aaron Boyd is the illustrator of 25 children's books including Luigi and the Barefoot Races, Babu's Song, Daddy Goes to Work, and the Panda Goes to School series. His pop-up Storybook Year won a Clio Top 4 award and was inducted into the Smithsonian Rare Books collection. He has also received Children's Africana Book, Choices Sports, Notable Children's Book, and Hermes Creative awards, and his advertising graphics have received Addy Gold and Graphis awards.

From the Back Cover

Luigi Lenzini wasn't the biggest kid on Regent Street in Philadelphia. He wasn't the strongest either. But he was the fastest. He was faster than the wind, and nobody ever beat him when the kids ran their races - always barefoot - in the summer. But one day Luigi found himself facing an impossible opponent. This time, Luigi was the underdog. Can Luigi's feisty Philadelphia spirit help him win, or will he lose to Mean Max?

Dan Paley's urban tall tale and Aaron Boyd's colorful illustrations take us to a city neighborhood of row houses, with children playing in the streets, adults visiting on the stoops, summer seeming like it will never end, and one kid's honor hanging in the balance.

Maybe it's urban legend, or maybe the true events have acquired added luster in Dan Paley's memory. After all, a story this amazing couldn't possibly be true, could it?

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Children from the neighborhood lined both sides of the street to get a good view. Off in the distance, at the finish line, stood the very tall judge, Mr. McFarland. Luigi and Mikey took off their shoes, stretched out their long, skinny toes, and walked up to the starting line. Mr. McFarland held up a bright red flag.“On your marks, get set, GO!”Mr. McFarland dropped the flag and the barefoot boys bolted off the line.

Edition details

• Publisher: Tilbury House Publishers
• Publication date: 2015
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0884483975
• ISBN 13: 9780884483977
• Binding: Hardcover
• Illustrator: Boyd Aaron
• Number of pages: 32