The Paperboy

The Paperboy
Story and Paintings by Dav Pilkey
Caldecott Honor book 1997

The author realistically and accurately depicts the Saturday routine of a very responsible paperboy and his faithful partner (his dog). The painted illustrations are wonderful, specifically the changes in the color palette of the sky from night to morning as the paperboy is performing his Saturday routine of delivering the morning paper. The sky in the illustration on the pages where the author states “all the world is asleep except for the paperboy and his dog” somewhat resembles the famous painting The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh.

This book reminds me of a time in my life when I wanted a paper route of my own. We lived in the rural part of the county and paper routes were only given to kids who lived in town where the houses were close together. This book captured the calming solitude and feeling of accomplishment that I always imagined that such a job would evoke.

I was surprised to discover the author of this book is the same Dav Pilkey that writes the Captain UnderPants books. Although both appeal to kids, the latter does so through humorous cartoons.

Dav Pilkey, with his beautiful colorful illustrations takes an ordinary routine and turns it into an unforgettable story.