The Paperboy (Caldecott Honor Book) Hardcover – Picture Book, February 23, 2016

I am a first grade teacher and my paperback copy of The Paperboy was getting pretty worn, so I decided to buy a new one, and this time purchased a hardcover. The story and illustrations are by Dav Pilkey of Dogman and Captain Underpants fame. It is a story that is nostalgic for those of us who grew up with newspapers being delivered by kids. The illustrations are delightful and the story is so simple and true to life. My students always enjoy it and are intrigued by a child performing such an important job on his own. I use this book in our unit on neighborhoods.

Dav Pilkey has written great book emphasizing the importance of responsibility, dedication, and companionship of a child and his dog. The book describes the everyday routine of a young man and his dog as they ride around town delivering news papers to the subscribers. Dav Pilkey did an amazing job illustrating the book using vibrant colors; depicting the time of day and the atmosphere that surrounds the boy and his dog. The book makes you feel as if you were riding along with him.The Paperboy is also a book that can be useful in a classroom. The book teaches children how valuable it is to become a model citizen inside and outside the class. Delivering the morning paper is a very important job to this young man knowing that there are so many people who rely on the information that lies within the pages of the paper.

This was my favorite book growing up! I’m passing along the joy and I got it has a baby shower gift.

This story was such a hit with my granddaughter that I had to buy her a copy of her own (not the library version). She is very bright but cannot sit through a lot of stories. This one is an exception--she knows all the words. Interesting and unusual topic presented in prose-like style. Well done!

My 6 year old son is a big Dav Pilkey fan. I was very impressed with Dav Pilkey's art, quite different from his Captain Underpants comics. It's a beautiful book. I like that it shows a boy having a job that he can be proud of. It was a nice change from Captain Underpant's, which my son cannot get enough of.

The illustrations are beautiful and create a peaceful mood, just like being awake before everyone else stirs. Depicts hard work, relationship between boy and dog, and even integrity. You feel the satisfaction of fulfilling your duty before anyone else even wakes up.But in this day and age, I feel nostalgic and melancholy about the era when kids could do this. I ended up giving away the book because I don't want to give my kid the idea to leave the house while everyone is still sleeping and I didn't like the lack of checking in with parents upon return. The profession may be outdated but also the idea of sending your child out in the dark on his/her own without checking in on them feels outdated in an era where we can't let children walk home alone to/from school. Maybe I'm just projecting because I ran away from home at age 15 in the middle of the night, lol!

I was a morning paperboy in the '60s. This book let me explain what it was like to my grandson.

This is a classic and the illustrations are gorgeous.