Goggles!

Goggles! by Ezra Jack Keats

Ages 5-9

Five stars

            When Peter and his friend Archie find a pair of old motorcycle goggles near their hideout, they can’t believe their luck-until some bigger boys decide they like the goggles too. Peter and Archie are in a squeeze, but after some quick thinking and a little help from Peter’s dog, things start to look a lot better.

            Ezra Jack Keats was a awarded a Caldecott Honor for Goggles!  She was also awarded the Caldecott Medal for The Snowy Day.  I checked out this book, for a presentation on bullying.   Keats does a nice job showing us a prime example of a bully picking on others.  What I most enjoyed about this book was the pictures.  They are dark, collage, and gritty illustrations. 

For me, it was obvious to see that this takes place in the American Ghettos around the 1960s.  You can see this from their hangout, and they way they talk. “Let’s go sit on the steps.”  Kids don’t sit on the steps anymore.  This obviously isn’t the meaning of the book, and the book is still enjoyable whether you see this or not.   One thing that I did not like about this book is the solution of what Peter and Archie did about the bullies.  Yes, it was a more realistic answer to trick them and run away, but I feel that there could be a better solution to teach the readers about bullies.