Stop That Ball

by Mike McClintock, Fritz Siebel (Illustrator)

Illus. in color. A boy's madcap adventures as he tries to retrieve his bouncing ball are told in "lively rhyming prose. Humorous, repetitious situations will delight children. Recommended."--School Library Journal.   

Genres: Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction, Humor, Adventure

63 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1959

Reviews

[Casey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A boy hits his ball off its string and chases it all through town. Narrowly averting disaster at manholes, construction sites, demolition areas, and big ol’ cannons, the boy never gives up on his seemingly endless pursuit of his red ball. Could this go on all day and night, you never know, it just might.

The illustrations are old school with a 4-colour print scheme. The rhymes and pacing of the story are a blast. It never feels like a long read despite its high page count.

This book was my absolute favourite as a kid, and I was beyond pumped when my mom bought a copy to give to my son. I wouldn’t say it is his #1 like mine but is in his upper tier of nightly requests. Which is acceptable, I guess…

[ella bortell · Rating 4 out of 5]

This picture book, Stop That Ball!, is about a boy and his red ball. He is playing with his tetherball, and then he hits it too hard and it ends up bouncing all around town. This book does not have much of a lesson unless “never give up” counts. It is a funny and engaging story with a lot of onomatopoeia that will keep children transfixed.

I believe it is a good book for general story recall because the ball bounces and hits a lot of things that the children can try to remember. It would also be good for semantics. Such as differentiating between things that are small and big, high and low, deep and shallow, etc.

I would not say this book is something necessary for a classroom, but at the age where children start being able to read this may be good to have as it will be something that will entertain them.

[Luisa Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another fav! Review coming soon!

[Calista · Rating 2 out of 5]

The art is done with four colors, white, black, red and green. The kids thought it was hilarious when the ball went in the tuba and was blown out. I remember thinking that as well. This was read to me and my brother growing up and I am interested to note how many scenes from this book were for typically boy type stuff. Fireman, trucks, builders, baseball. I never noticed as a kid. Very interesting. It's a good book, nothing fancy.

[Bailey Marissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A beginner's reader adventure about a boy and his red tether ball.

[Bronwyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a cute book. My son really enjoyed it.


Read for the first time in the year:
January 22, 2021

[Kimberly · Rating 4 out of 5]

I give this book a 4 star rating.

This book is about the ball that keeps bouncing around the town. It bounces thru construction, to the park, thru a tree and into a cannon. The ball keeps going and going till it finally stops. The boy had to chance the ball all day till he could finally stop it.


Ways to use in the classroom
1) A lesson about gravity
2) Writing prompt about a ball being on the loose.
3) Have the students as a class make the story up

[Cara · Rating 4 out of 5]

The ball that won't stop really won't.
As he's playing with his ball, the string snaps and his ball goes flying. He chases his precious red ball all over town and then some, his ball narrowly avoiding disaster many times. He finally gets it back home and on the pole with a new string. The first hit sends the ball flying again because the string back and the poor boy is back at it again.

Personally, I'd have either set that pole or fire or attached the ball with a chain, lol.

[Roger · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a joy to revisit this book from my childhood (it was published about 10 years before I was born). I may not have seen it since I was 6 or 7, but the cover image is burned in my memory. It rhymes like a Dr Seuss story but doesn’t have Seuss’s magical, mythical characters. Still, the best $6.86 I’ve spent in a long time.

[Villain E · Rating 3 out of 5]

A boy hits his ball so hard it goes flying out of his yard and he chases it all over town. A girl follows him on her bike, but he's oblivious to her. Told in rhyme. It's dated in its gender roles and lack of diversity, but nothing overtly offensive. Otherwise, entertaining.

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

A young boy plays a little too hard with his tether ball. It flies off and sends the boy, his dog, and a young girl (the boy never notices) on a wild adventure through town.

[Monica Tomasello · Rating 5 out of 5]

This silly story of what happens to a ball when it gets away from a little boy was a favorite of mine as a little girl and one I loved to read to my kids. I still have my original copy.

[Priya · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really like this book and I love to read it everyday.by 4 year old.

[Aidan Gibson · Rating 5 out of 5]

FIRE

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

A boy chases his ball which is being flung all around town in the strangest series of events.

[Elmwoodblues · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved it as a little kid, still love it as a big kid.

[Abirami Rajendran · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fun short read. Would recommend for kids to learn new rhyming words!

[Maeve · Rating 3 out of 5]

After a young boy hits his red ball out of his yard, he goes on a wild adventure to get it back.

[KaitandMaddie · Rating 3 out of 5]

We found a box of childhood books of mine in the garage and there were a handful I thought I’d read with Maddie (and sometimes Kait!) before passing along because I remembered these ones.

[Denise Schlachtaub · Rating 5 out of 5]

Follow the ball wherever it goes...

[Noal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man o' man is this book super stressfull for me! My original copy I picked up at a bookmobile when I was 4. The guy driving the thing told me to bring it back in a couple of weeks on the same day of the week. My mom never took it back. Everytime I would look at the book I would think about how we had stolen it. Top that with a stressfull story of how a ball gets away from a kid and he has to chase it around town before he gets home to have it get away again (i never have liked thinking about infinite things or loops) and I was plenty freaked out. Ummm this one is right up there with "Are You My Mother"

[Ms. Biesecker]

Category: Beginning reader picture books
Author: Mike McClintock
Illustrator: Mike McClintock
Title: Stop that Ball!
Publication date: 1959
Brief annotation: A boy chases his ball all over town after he loses it.
Themes: Repetition, sequence of events, humor, prediction
Ways to use the book with children: Working on guessing sequence of events

[Jennifer Bonstein · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite book from my childhood. I got it for Carley and we read it every single night for months.

It's out of print and when you can find it, it's very expensive. But I found a "cheap" one and got it for her (or was it for me?)

[Rachel N · Rating 5 out of 5]

E-man's FAVORITE for 2010. This book is out of print and the copy we have is falling apart. The story is fun, fast moving, and rhyming, with a cute twist at the end. Our 3 year old nearly has it memorized... no wonder, since we've read it so many time.

[Jennifer Heise · Rating 4 out of 5]

I adored this story of the ping-pong path of a red rubber ball through town when I was a kid. I can never get over the ball in the French horn! My six year old is now reading it with me from time to time, and he enjoys watching the exploits of that runaway ball too.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my reading challenges this year is to read a book I loved as a child. I remember my grandmother reading this book to me and then later I remember reading it to her.

[Steveg · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another of my favorites from when I was a child.

[Christine · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books as a child. I'll never forget my mother's animated depiction of the ball's epic journey. :P

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another book I loved as a child and now have shared with my own child. A fun book to read and listen to.

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is a lot of fun. If you are really pc you may not like it. It was written in the late 1950's.