Home-Field Advantage by Justin Tuck

Home Field Advantage by Justin Tuck, illustrated by Leonardo Rodriguiez.   Simon & Shuster, 2011, 22 pages.

Reading Level: Picture book, ages 4-8

Recommended for: ages 4-6

Bottom Line: NFL star Justin Tuck tells a humorous story from his childhood that underscores the value of family.

Justin Tuck sounds like a good guy.  He and his wife founded Tuck’s R.U.S.H. for Literacy (Read, Understand, Succeed, and Hope), to which go the proceeds from this book.  “Academic success starts with reading and literacy,” he says, a principle his parents believed very strongly.

In the book, he explains how he got to be so tough: growing up with five sisters (four older, one younger).  One day the twins, Christale and Tiffany, proposed to cut his hair, with predictable results.  Just about every kid alive has suffered an amateur haircut at the hands of siblings, so they’ll relate—and the pictures are hilarious.  It’s a thin story with a big heart and a strong family emphasis: “Even when they did things like this, I know they loved me and I loved them.”  A two-page spread shows Justin growing up, working out, playing for Central Coosa County High school and Notre Dame and finally the New York Giants, but the crowning illustration is a caricature portrait of the Tuck siblings as they look today.  Little gridiron fans will be charmed, and big sisters will get plenty of ideas.

Cautions: None

Overall rating: 4.5 (out of 5)

• Worldview/moral value: 5
• Artistic value: 4

Categories: Picture Books, Sports, Life Issues