Children's Book Review: The Blue Ribbon Day

The Blue Ribbon Day
Written by:  Katie Couric
Illustrated by:  Marjorie Priceman
Published by: Doubleday, 2004

from goodreads.com:
Everybody’s a star, a brilliant creation.
The trouble is finding the right constellation!

Ellie McSnelly and Carrie O’Toole, the winning pair of friends from The Brand New Kid, are back in a new adventure. Ellie and Carrie decide to try out for the school team in their favorite sport, soccer. But when only one of the girls is selected, the inseparable pair faces a challenge(what do you say when your best friend is terribly disappointed?

But while some disappointments can’t be avoided, Carrie learns (with some help from her mother and her old friend Lazlo) that while she may not be good at everything, she has undiscovered talents waiting to bloom, if she has the courage to try something new.

For every reader who has ever set his or her heart on joining a sports team, getting a part in the school play, or winning a class election, and been let down, Katie Couric’s reassuring and inspiring story gives a charming lesson in confidence.

* News anchor Katie Couric has written a couple of children's books.  I believe this is the first of hers that we've read.  In this story, told in rhyme,  two friends try out for the soccer team but only one friend,Ellie,  makes it.  The other friend, Carrie, needs to deal with disappointment, but is also able to find something that she's good at and enjoys.  It has a good message for kids that everyone is good at something and we need to learn to cope with disappointment.  Couric has written a note to the reader in the beginning and explains this.  The water color pictures are colorful and cheery.
Family Rating: 1 thumb up.