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Summary
Summary
Tony Dungy's little brother Linden is having a bad day. Linden is the youngest of the Dungy family and everyone seems to have his or her special talent. When a class assignment has him thinking about his future, Linden begins to worry that he may never find his calling. All Linden knows is that he wants to help people and make them happy. With encouragement from his parents, a visit to the dentist and some big-brotherly guidance from Tony, Linden learns that if he dreams and has faith, any goal can be achieved.
Author Notes
Former professional football player and National Football League coach Anthony Kevin "Tony" Dungy was born in Jackson, Michigan on October 6, 1955. While a high school basketball and football player, he was featured in the Faces in the Crowd section of a 1970 Sports Illustrated issue.
Dungy worked for a number of NFL teams before being hired as the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 1996. Following his successes there, he held the head coach position for the Indianapolis Colts from 2002 to 2008, becoming in 2007 the first African-American head coach to win a Super Bowl. Dungy was also the youngest assistant coach and coordinator for the NFL and the first head coach to defeat every team. He is one of the few individuals to have won a Super Bowl as both a player and a head coach.
Dungy has written several bestselling books, including the memoir Quiet Strength: The Principles, Practices, and Priorities of a Winning Life, the picture book You Can Do It, and Uncommon Marriage: Learning about Lasting Love and Overcoming Life's Obstacles Together.
He has been involved in a number of charities, including the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Athletes in Action, Mentors for Life, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Boys & Girls Clubs, the Prison Crusade Ministry, and All Pro Dad. He also assists Basket of Hope, the Black Coaches Association National Convention, Indiana Black Expo, the United Way of Central Indiana, and the American Diabetes Association. In 2007, Dungy was appointed to the President's Council on Service and Civic Participation, and in 2009 President Barack Obama asked him to join the Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (2)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 2-This is a sweet and earnest story about the author's younger brother, who struggles to name his "it" and begin the road to fulfillment in life. The Dungy family puts its faith in God and encourages the boys to do so too. When a toothache brings Linden to the dentist's office, he finds the excitement he's been looking for and ends up becoming a dentist himself. Dungy is a natural storyteller, and readers will buy into this warm family despite some disconnected narrative elements and a tired plot. Bates is skilled at creating charming characters, and her watercolor paintings evoke a vibrant family life. Dungy's name will be familiar to Pro Football fans.-Lisa Egly Lehmuller, St. Patrick's Catholic School, Charlotte, NC (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
This earnest effort from the well-known NFL coach is based on Dungy's childhood experiences in his own tightly knit Christian family. He focuses on the concept that each person has a special talent--an "it"--that can be discovered if you "[t]rust God and dream big!" Little brother Linden feels left out because his brother, Tony, and sisters have special talents and interests that seem to lead straight to their future careers. After having a cavity filled by an understanding dentist, Linden finds a sudden and intense interest in teeth and the dental profession, which he shares with his class during show-and-tell. A concluding note, in the author's own voice, connects the story to his own life and Christian faith and confirms Linden's success as a dentist. The large format highlights Bates's attractive full-color illustrations, which depict the close-knit, loving African-American family with warmth. The stilted text, however, indicates that Dungy's it lies in coaching, not in writing, all good intentions aside. (Picture book/religion. 5-8) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
