Title: Jimmy the Greatest!
Author: Jairo Buitrago
Illustrator: Rafael Yockenteng
Translated By Elisa Amado
Published By: Groundwood Books/ House of Anasi Press
# of Pages: 48
Theme: Persistence, Boxing, Reading
This Colombian author and illustrator together created a very inspiring story. Young Jimmy lives in a small Caribbean village where there is little to do. There is one small gym, and Jimmy decides to start hanging out there. The owner of the gym Don Apolinear gives Jimmy books and newspaper articles about Muhammed Ali, and inspires Jimmy to become an avid reader and wants to train to become a boxer. Jimmy realized that many people in his town inspire to leave that town and move on to bigger and better things, however, Jimmy wants to change this. However, Jimmy realizes that he wants to stay in the town and even open a library. This book stresses taking pride in your culture and home town. It also stress the lack of materialism. There is a spanish version of this book that was written in 2010 titled Jimmy el más grande and it was nominated for the Best Books of the Year by Venezuela's Banco del Libro.
The pictures throughout this book use a distinct style an help readers visualize the culture and environment of Jimmy's home village. The illustrator used texture and lines to create images specific to this book. The pictures add great detail to the story and enhance the reader's experience while reading theThe bright colors increase the visual appeal and assist readers in picturing this very specific culture and village.
Some Classroom Activities Include:
- Researching the Colombian and Caribbean cultures
- Learning basic spanish language
- Allowing students to create a plan to open and design their own library
