Let's Play Baseball
Ages: Infant - 4 yrs.
Author: Charles R.
Smith, Jr. Illustrator: Terry Widener
Candlewick Press, $8.99 (Hardcover)
After a long winter, the spring sunshine beckons children out
to play-and for many kids the game of choice is baseball. In fact, in
Charles R. Smith's colorful new board book it's the ball itself that coaxes
a little boy outdoors for a fast-paced game. The story is told from a
baseball's point of view, telling his owner, “Blast me off your bat, into
the sky...see my red stitches spin as I fly.” Smith's text is simple and
rhyming. Its brevity makes it a good choice for emerging readers; the
sturdy pages are also a plus for this age group.
Roasted Peanuts
Ages: 4 - 8 yrs.
Author: Tim Egan
Illustrator: Tim Egan
Houghton Mifflin Children's Books, $16.00 (Hardcover)
Just in time for summer and backyard baseball comes this
clever story of two unlikely friends: strong, fast, athletic Sam (a horse)
and klutzy Jackson (a cat) whose one talent is a terrific arm. When the two
are finally old enough to try out for the local baseball team, their dream
of playing together is shattered when Sam is chosen and Jackson is cut.
However, stay tuned for the plot twist: when Jackson gets a job selling
peanuts in the stands and Sam hits a slump on the field, well—let's just
say there's more than one way to be a star.
Girl Wonder: A Baseball Story in Nine Innings
Ages: 5 - 8 yrs.
Author: Deborah Hopkinson Illustrator: Terry Widener
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing/Anne Schwartz Books/Atheneum
This is an unpretentious, thoroughly engrossing baseball
tale, guaranteed to please reader/listeners up to the age of ten. When she
was two, our real life heroine Alta Weiss discovers that “I must have been
born to play baseball” when she hurls a corncob at an old tomcat harassing
her favorite hen and bops him directly on the head.
Dirt on Their Skirts
Ages: 5 - 9 yrs.
Author: Doreen
Rappaport Author: Lyndall Callan
Illustrator: E. B. Lewis
Penguin Putnam Inc./Dial Books for Young Readers, $16.99 (Hardcover)
A carefully constructed glimpse into a piece of women’s
history, this book is neatly aimed at young girls and boys just beginning
to play baseball or softball. The All-American Girls Professional Baseball
League was formed during the years of World War II. They kept the game
alive in mind and heart and provided special role models for the girls of
that time and any time. In this single day slice-of-life, a young girl
cheers for her favorite player during a championship game. The excitement
is pungently caught in the spare play-by-play narrative, and the sweeping
illustrations focus on the action and the intense faces of players and
watchers. This book is an enticing peek that may lead to a longer look at
these remarkable women.
Say-Hey and the Babe: Two Mostly True Baseball Stories
Ages: 6 -
10 yrs.
Author: Neil Waldman Illustrator: Neil Waldman
Holiday House, Inc., $16.95 (Hardcover)
Few sports have inspired as much art and literature as
baseball, and Neil Waldman's new picture book about “The Great Bambino”
adds another tale to a growing mythology. Here, a ball once signed by Babe
Ruth and the legendary 1927 New York Yankees takes a stranger-than-fiction
journey that happens to converge with another notable ball-one hit by
Willie Mays of the 1951 New York Mets. Waldman freely blends fact with
legend. The spirits of the eras represented are vividly portrayed,
including not only the sights and sounds but the smells and the distinct
local dialects. Fascinating sidebars on baseball, immigrant history, New
York neighborhoods and other subjects are included.
Mudball
Ages: 6 - 10 yrs.
By: Matt Tavares
Candlewick Press, $15.99 (Hardcover)
It's 1903, and the St. Paul Saints are leading the Minneapolis Millers 3-0,
when Miller Andy Oyler, the shortest player in the league, steps up to the
plate with two outs, bases loaded. As a sudden downpour turns the field
into muddy quagmire Oyler, in the midst of a horrendous batting slump,
astounds the heckling crowd with "the unmistakable sound of ball against
bat. CRACK!" Tavares treats his readers to a comedic showcase of the
bumbling Saints as they scramble among the puddles to locate a ball that is
ultimately found a few feet from home plate.
Oliver's Game
Ages: 6 - 10 yrs.
By: Matt Tavares
Candlewick Press, $15.99 (Hardcover)
This story is nostalgic on a few different levels; not only
does the primary action take place in the World War II-era, but the pencil
and watercolor illustrations are rendered in monochromatic shades of gray
and sepia. Furthermore, the frame of the tale is set in Hall’s Nostalgia, a
baseball memorabilia shop owned by Grandpa Oliver Hall and frequented by
the namesake grandson who hears his Chicago Cubs stories. We learn that
Grandpa, as a young man, once had a promising career as a Cubs hitter, but
the escalation of the war prompts him to make a difficult decision. The
shop is modeled after one that Tavares himself grew up around, and his
reverence for all things baseball genuinely comes through.
Baseball Saved Us
Ages: 6 - 11 yrs.
Author: Ken Mochizuki Illustrator: Dom Lee
Lee & Low Books, $6.95 (Paperback)
The narrator remembers World War II, when he, a small
American boy of Japanese ancestry, was uprooted and "relocated" to a desert
camp. As tempers in the claustrophobic camp frayed, the smart parents set
up baseball games. And on the diamond the young hero proves himself - there
in camp, as well as later in the face of bigotry at home again. The
unembellished narrative is powerful; the illustrations, often suffused in a
golden haze, indicate times past.
Stories in Music: Casey at the Bat
Ages: 6 & Up
Magic
Maestro Music Div. of Simon & Simon, LLC, $16.98 (CD)
Another fine entertaining and educational release in the "Stories in Music"
series, created in the tradition of "Peter and the Wolf." With a
performance by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, composer-conductor
Stephen Simon has given the symphonic, narrative treatment to American poet
Ernest Lawrence Thayer's classic poem about a baseball hero's fall from
glory. Other tracks include information about the poem, about music
composition, listening tips, a play-along track for aspiring violinists and
the same music played as a concert band piece and a tango.
Backyard Baseball 2005 for PC and Playstation 2
Ages: 7 - 12 yrs.
Atari, Inc. - MA, $19.99
(Windows 98/ME/2000/XP, Playstation2)
Like baseball returns each spring, so does the newest version of this
kid-friendly fun-and-strategy baseball game. Will yet another upgrade of
its engaging arcade-like mix of playground and professional baseball action
be worth it? The prospect report: This one is a hit. There's all the fun
power-ups such as the fireball pitch and the lightening bat that were there
before. And the neighborhood kids are back waiting to be you drafted onto
your ball club--a strategic decision based on their abilities, skills
(players are rated from one to 10 in power, contact, pitching, running, and
defense) or just unusual personalities.Is it worth buying if your young
ballplayers already have a previous version? Ask yourself, how much do they
love baseball?
Play Ball Like the Pro's
Ages: 8 - 12 yrs.
Author: Steven
Krasner
Peachtree Publishers, LTD, $12.95
This is a great instructional book filled with useful and insightful tips
aimed at kids working at honing their baseball skills--all in the words of
20 of the game's top major-league ballplayers. Separate chapters cover
basics such as catching, pitching, each infield position, playing the
outfield, hitting, and base running.
Baseball for Everyone: Stories from the Great
Game
Ages: 8 - 12 yrs.
Author: Janet Wyman Coleman &
Elizabeth V. Warren
Harry N. Abrams, Inc., $16.95
This colorful tour of baseball's history, illustrated with folk art and
collectibles, shows why the sport is called "America's Pastime". From
pick-up games played by children, Civil War soldiers, firemen, and college
students, to the formation of the first professional leagues, this is a
democratic look at the sport illustrated with early baseball cards,
paintings, quilts, signs, carved bats, and more. Book
Description
Jackie and Me
Ages: 8 - 12 yrs.
Author: Dan Gutman
Avon, $5.99 (Paperback)
Joe can travel through time via baseball cards. Inspired by a classroom
report, he travels back to 1947 to meet Jackie Robinson, who was the first
African-American to play major league baseball. A sometimes funny, yet
serious and totally involving take on history.
Circa Classics Baseball
Ages: 8 & Up
Front Porch
Classics, $49.99
Circa Classics Baseball is a finely crafted, old-wood styled throwback of
an actual baseball game. Like its big brother, the award-winning "Old
Century Baseball" game which is about twice the size and cost of this
smaller version, this table-top ballpark brings a pre-electric pinball
style of play to America's pastime.
Harry's Grand Slam Baseball
Ages: 8 & Up
Out of the Box
Publishing, Inc Price: $14.99
Imagine being able to play a complete baseball game on your kitchen table.
A reproduction of Harry Obst's original card game from 1962, the game
includes 54 illustrated play cards, a baseball “diamond”, an outfield
scoreboard, both updated and original rules, a card reference sheet, and a
history of Harry's Grand Slam Baseball Game, all conveniently housed in a
sturdy tin.
A Strong Right Arm
Ages: 10 & Up
Author: Michelle Y.
Green
Penguin Putnam Inc./Dial Books for Young Readers, $15.99 (Hard
Cover)
This five-foot-two, ninety-eight pound young woman's strong right arm led
her all the way to three years of professional baseball play with the Negro
League's Indianapolis Clowns. Her struggles against the injustices of
racism and sexism are told as matter-of-fact asides to her joy in playing
baseball.
Fodor's Baseball Vacations
Ages: All Ages
Author: Margaret
Engel Author: Bruce Adams
Fodor's Travel Publications, $20.00 (Paperback)
For many hardcore baseball fans, the field of dream extends to the many
Major League Baseball and minor league stadiums. So when on vacation,
catching a game in another town becomes a wonderful pastime. This great
book is THE travel guide for families of baseball fans--reviewing the
authors' experiences on the road at during 34 well-planned baseball
pilgrimages across the nation.
Ballpark: The Story of America's Baseball Fields
Ages: All
Ages
Author: Lynn Curlee Illustrator: Lynn Curlee
Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing/Atheneum Books for Young
Readers, $17.95 (Hardcover)
In this informed overview of America's ballparks, veteran nonfiction writer
Lynn Curlee provides an historic and cultural look at baseball and of the
ball fields that mark the game's evolution. His love for the game and for
its parks is clear.
Playmakers Part III: Wiffle Ball In 1952, 13-year-old David A. Mullany had an unquenchable need to play
baseball but was faced with the friendly confines of his own backyard. Not
content to give up on his game, David and his friends devised a way to play
using a broomstick and perforated plastic golf ball. Learn how that
backyard game evolved into a new national pastime.
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