“You’re A Good Sport, Miss Malarkey” is written by Judy Finchler and illustrated by Kevin O’Malley.
Soccer season has arrived, so Dr. Toughlove thought it would be an ideal time to showcase the book “You’re A Good Sport, Miss Malarkey” written by Judy Finchler and illustrated by Kevin O’Malley.
Judy Finchler is a retired elementary school teacher and librarian, and is the author of a series of children’s picture books about Miss Malarkey, a good-natured teacher at Youngstown Elementary School. In this book, Principal Wiggins (yes, he wears a wig) asks Mr. Fitanuff, the gym teacher, to be the school’s soccer coach. That didn’t work out too well, so Principal Wiggins assigned Miss Malarkey to the job, despite the fact that she doesn’t know much about soccer. This doesn’t turn out to be a terrible problem because the YELS team members (Youngstown Elementary League Soccer) don’t know much about soccer either. “I’m really good “cause I play video soccer”, “I played soccer once……I scored a touchdown”, and “You can’t score a touchdown in soccer. You scored a basket” (p. 3).
Judy Finchler’s book artfully depicts the idea that something good can be learned from a bad example. Throughout the book the adults in the story harass referees, complain about the coach, scream at their kids from the sidelines and display other unsportsmanlike behavior. Miss Malarkey, in her mild-mannered way, tries her best to rise above this and coach in a caring, loving manner. The contrast is startling and makes a very important point about civility and kindness.
The mark of a great children’s book is when an author, in conjunction with a skilled illustrator is able to tackle complex issues (sportsmanship, civility) with lightness and wit. “You’re a Good Sport, Miss Malarkey” does this with aplomb. When adults read this book to or with children, it provides a golden opportunity to talk about things like how to treat others, and why the adults are behaving badly. Conversations can also include how Miss Malarkey takes control of the situation, shames the adults and saves the day. Children and adults can also talk about how to handle situations like this if/when they arise. This book can serve as a great teaching and learning tool.
If you have any budding actors or actresses in your midst, the speech bubbles in “You’re A Good Sport, Miss Malarkey” provide a perfect occasion for children to vary their volume and intonation to accurately express the written words. For the same reason, it makes a wonderful read aloud selection.
“You’re A Good Sport, Miss Malarkey” is a great book for kids aged 5-9, and is available at the Queen Anne’s County Library.