I Got It!

by David Wiesner (Author)

I Got It!
Reading Level: K − 1st Grade

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.

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Hardcover
$19.99

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ALA/Booklist

Starred Review
Three-time Caldecott Medalist David Wiesner hits it out of the park with this almost-wordless picture book about a boy who just wants to be part of the baseball team.

Kirkus

Starred Review
Wiesner is a master of fantastical wordless (or nearly so) adventures.

None

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.

Publishers Weekly

Starred Review

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.)

Copyright 2018 Publishers Weekly, LLC Used with permission.

School Library Journal

Starred Review

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

Copyright 2018 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Review quotes

 
Classification
Fiction
ISBN-13
9780544309029
Lexile Measure
-
Guided Reading Level
-
Publisher
Clarion Books
Publication date
April 03, 2018
Series
-
BISAC categories
JUV051000 - Juvenile Fiction | Imagination & Play
JUV039140 - Juvenile Fiction | Social Themes | Self-Esteem & Self-Reliance
JUV032010 - Juvenile Fiction | Sports & Recreation | Baseball
Library of Congress categories
Stories without words
Baseball
Baseball stories
Outfielders (Baseball)

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