Official Review: Sterling the St. Bernard Plays a Sport

[bookowlie]

[Following is the official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Sterling the St. Bernard Plays a Sport" by Martina M. Sneed.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Sterling the St. Bernard Plays a Sport is a children’s picture book written by Martina Sneed and illustrated by Rayah Jaymes. Sterling is a St. Bernard dog who likes to play sports with his friends Cooper, Kincaid, Tara, and Scout. He enjoys participating in different team sports, although his favorite is basketball. As you can imagine, Sterling is excited to go to tryouts for the basketball team after school.

I enjoyed reading this fun and educational story suitable for children ages 3 through 8. Sterling is a likable character who has good manners. For example, he stops when he sees two classmates getting ready to race during recess, as he doesn’t want to interrupt them. Sterling is also compassionate and helpful. When Kincaid and Cooper tease Scout about stinking at sports, he scolds them. He then tries to soothe Scout’s feelings and offers to help Scout practice his basketball moves, with the hope that his friend might be able to improve.

The book has a light-hearted feel with humorous dialogue such as “Dunk? Seriously? You couldn’t dunk a doggy biscuit in water!” I think kids would find the animals easy to relate to as they play basketball and “hi-paw” each other, similar to humans giving a high-five.

The colorful illustrations are appealing and a good fit for the narrative. It’s very cute that the animals are dressed in casual clothing, sports caps, and athletic shoes. I also liked the portrayal of diversity among the classmates. Various breeds of dogs are depicted, and two of the characters are other animals; Scout is a skunk and Tara is a frog. The “you stink at sports” comment toward Scout is a clever tie-in since the character is a skunk. When Sterling scolds the others for Scout’s poor basketball skills, it also sends a message to children that people shouldn’t be teased or bullied for their weaknesses or being different.

Once they are past the first stages of learning to read, kids would be able to read this book on their own. There are a handful of words that parents might need to help with the pronunciation and meaning of, such as gesturing, technique, and outcome.

This story has easily earned a rating of 4 out of 4 stars. It is an entertaining read with interesting characters and universal lessons for children about friendship and teamwork. I think this short book would be a welcome addition to a child’s home library and an excellent choice for teachers to read at storytime.

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Sterling the St. Bernard Plays a Sport
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Like bookowlie's review? Post a comment saying so!

[gali]

Sounds like a cute and entertaining book for kids. Thank you for the excellent review!

[bookowlie]

Thanks Gali! It was so cute that the animals wore sneakers.

[Heidi M Simone]

Wonderful review, bookowlie! It definitely sounds like a cute read! I love when authors use something almost tangible (like animals) to teach children some of those basic lessons in life. I'm glad you enjoyed the read and congratulations to the author for receiving such a positive review!

[bookowlie]

Thanks Hsimone! It's always nice when a story can teach kids good values in addition to being entertaining.

[Heidi M Simone]

Thanks Hsimone! It's always nice when a story can teach kids good values in addition to being entertaining.

Absolutely!

[bookowlie]

I also think kids like any story that includes a dog!

[Kourtney Bradley]

Sounds like an adorable book for children! Great review! Thanks!

[bookowlie]

Thanks for taking the time to read my review! I loved the little touches in the book, such as when the author wrote that the dogs "hi-paw" each other.

[Heidi M Simone]

Having animals definitely adds to children's book (and to some adult ones too!)

[bookowlie]

Having animals definitely adds to children's book (and to some adult ones too!)

So true! Well...unless it's a cat. Cats tend to sneak around and you don't always realize they are there.

** as posted by a dog person