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Take Me Out to the Ball Park
What is better on a warm summer afternoon than a game of baseball? It is the great American pastime, after all! Meet baseball players whose passion broke various barriers, find out about the history of the game, learn some of its basics, and join a boy with a very special baseball. After taking a look at these books, you'll probably wind up heading out to a game singing "Take Me Out to the Ball Game!"
The baseball card of "…the bandy-legged son of German immigrants" sold for almost three million dollars in 2007. Honus Wagner was an all-around player who could hit, run, and play shortstop equally well. Highlights of his life and some of the myths that swirled up around him are presented in evocative, energetic text and handsome paintings.
Comic illustrations effectively combine with a straightforward text to bring baseball terms to life. From A ("Ace. The best pitcher on the team…") to Z ("Strike Zone. To be in the strike zone, a pitch must be…") the alphabet is a device used to introduce all things baseball, likely to be appreciated by even young aficionados.
Ernest Thayer's now-classic ballad about Mudville's mighty slugger has been newly and magnificently illutrated by Christopher Bing. The story is rendered as though it had been newly discovered in a hundred-year-old scrapbook. A Caldecott Honor Book.
She seemed born to pitch when growing up in a small Ohio town and pitch she did at a time when women only wore skirts or dresses. Stylized illustrations combine with the fictionalized voice of Alta Weiss to present a memorable glimpse of early baseball, one young woman's passion for the game, and a quick look at women in the sport.
There were always discoveries to be made in their grandmother's attic; and Gee always had a story to go along with it. On this visit, the cousins find an autographed baseball that leads to a story about the Negro Baseball League and its stars, Josh Gibson and Satchel Paige. Exciting, predictable, and well-paced, this is sure to appeal to children.
A baseball encourages a boy to play the game, to enjoy the sounds, excitement, and camaraderie of the game. The short, rhyming text is accompanied by humorous illustrations for a playful look at baseball for younger children.
Jackie loved to pitch baseball. Her long practices paid off when at 17-years old she pitched for the Chattanooga Lookouts in a demonstration game against the New York Yankees. Jackie struck out both Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig — and forever changed baseball's rules. The excitement of Jackie Mitchell's story is well-paced, illustrated with slightly exaggerated and altogether winning illustrations.
The basic rules and equipment of baseball are introduced in simple words and straightforward illustrations. Those interested in the nitty-gritty of the game will appreciate this practical presentation.
Ted Williams never flinched at hard work or a challenge. In his last season with the Boston Red Sox, Williams had to decide if he wanted to take the chance and lose his rare .400 average or go to bat. Williams' decision creates a riveting read in this handsome and thoughtful look at one man's ethics and the times in which he lived.
Katie Casey follows her passion for baseball and winds up playing for one of the professional girls' teams — and wins. The little known opening of a well-known tune, "Take Me Out to the Ball Game," inspired this fictionalized look at the professional all-girls baseball league that thrived during World War II.
Lush, realistic illustrations combine with a simple text to suggest what it must have been like when the pioneering Jackie Robinson played ball for the Brooklyn Dodgers. Additional factual information is included in what is made to look like baseball cards on each page. The result is a handsome book that can be appreciated by different ages.
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