Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Stillwater Public Library | J 796.3570973 COO | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
T AKE A WALK ON THE WILD SIDE OF BASEBALL IN THIS FUNNY, FASCINATING JOURNEY FROM THE EARLIEST GAMES TO TODAY.
Discover what it was like before there was a pitching mound or players had numbers on their jerseys. Learn how Babe Ruth got his nickname, why Brooklyn's team was called the Dodgers, and what Roger Clemens gave to keep his lucky number 21 when he switched teams. See what clever ways players have found to win -- even ways to cheat! Sprinkled throughout are definitions of baseball's weird and wacky vocabulary, from a meatball to Uncle Charlie .
Find out which player was traded for a bag of prunes, but don't trade this book for anything! Ross MacDonald's lively pictures bring fans close to the action with plenty of mischievous fun in this free-swinging tribute to the boys of summer.
Author Notes
Sally Cook 's first book for children was Good Night Pillow Fight , illustrated by Laura Cornell. Ms. Cook is also the co-author, with Gene Stallings, of Another Season , a New York Times bestseller. She lives in New York City.
James Charlton is the publications director for the Society for American Baseball Research, a founding editor of the Pushcart Prize, and a judge of the Casey Award, which is given annually to the best baseball book. He has written numerous books about baseball, and lives in New York City.
Ross MacDonald 's illustrations have appeared in many magazines, including the New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Newsweek , and Time . He is also the author and illustrator of several children's books, including Another Perfect Day , which was a Publishers Weekly Best Book; Achoo! Bang! Crash! The Noisy Alphabet , which was a Publishers Weekly Best Book and a Nick Jr. Magazine Best Book; and, most recently, Bad Baby . Mr. MacDonald lives with his family in Connecticut. Visit his website at www.Ross-MacDonald.com .
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
With a catchy, conversational style, the authors present a potpourri of anecdotes and facts that reveal the many ways baseball has changed over the years. One of the many entertaining aspects of the book is the way the writers weave insider slang into the narrative, highlighted in bold and defined in the margin (e.g., "gappers: hits between outfielders"; "tweeners: hits between infielders"). Fans will lap up details of the evolving style of the players' uniforms, the evolution of the jerseys' numbering system, the genesis of some of the stars' nicknames, and the ways that teammates have "doctored" balls and bats to enhance their performance. Among the kid-pleasing bits of trivia are the facts that, with only one umpire in the field in professional baseball's early days (rather than the current total of four), incidents of cheating regularly occurred, including players running directly from first to third base, and fielders tripping base runners. The book provides dates for events and incidents on a spotty basis, rendering some of the comparisons between yesteryear and the present murky. With a signature style that recalls vintage cartoons, MacDonald's (Another Perfect Day) watercolor and pencil crayon illustrations pleasingly convey the text's lighthearted tone. Baseball buffs will find this a diverting-and occasionally wild-outing indeed. Ages 6-10. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
(Primary, Intermediate) Baseball's days of yore receive a sunny treatment in this beguiling tribute to the national pastime. Cook and Charlton's chatty (and unfortunately unsourced) text reveals enough tidbits to make the most fanatical fan happy: did you know that, in 1882, teams had no specific uniforms, but the fielding positions were color-coded instead? That baserunning in the days when there was only one umpire was often a contact sport? That until 1892, pitchers threw from boxes? The narrative is peppered with baseball slang, emphasized in bold and helpfully glossed in the margins, so readers can take such expressions as a frozen rope (hard-hit line drive), tools of ignorance (catcher's equipment), and portsider slabman (a left-handed pitcher) with them to the park to show off their expertise. MacDonald's signature nostalgic style recalls the comic strips of the twenties and thirties in a crackerjack match of illustration to text; his predominantly yellow palette lends the whole a happily idealistic feel. And idealistic it certainly is: while the section on cheating extends to doctored balls and Sammy Sosa's corked bat, it apparently can find no way to discuss the current steroid scandal, an absence that, when noticed, undercuts the upbeat last line: ""And each team will always try to find new ways to win!"" (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.
Booklist Review
The authors present a lively, puckish history of baseball's earliest years, relating what young readers actually want to know: Was it harder then? (No.) Did players cheat? (Yes, in inventive ways.) Where did a player's numbers come from? (Originally from his spot in the lineup) And those team names? And all the equipment? Those questions are also answered. Boldface words in the text identify jargon, most of which is still used today, and definitions stud the page borders. The jaunty tone is flawlessly matched by MacDonald's illustrations, with their wriggling lines and Katzenjammer Kids colors. Old-timey letterpress wood fonts are used to great effect as section titles and on the endpapers. Source notes or a bibliography would have made this more useful, but it could hardly be more fun. --GraceAnne DeCandido Copyright 2007 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 3-6-Segments of this light and breezy overview focus on uniforms, players' numbers, catchers' equipment, team names, players' nicknames, tricks, trades, and more. Throughout, there's a delightful emphasis on the game's colorful lexicon of words and phrases. Many of the terms reflect baseball's humble beginnings: in the 1880s fans were called "cranks," an "Uncle Charlie" meant a curveball pitch, and a player who "patrolled the pasture" played in the outfield. A "can of corn" (a slow-moving fly ball) meant an easy out, while a "frozen rope" (a hard-hit line drive) could spell trouble for a fielder. The text is highly readable, if loosely organized, and buoyantly carried along on the strength of MacDonald's cartoon illustrations. The watercolor and pencil-crayon pictures have an old-fashioned flavor and add plenty of detail and slapstick humor. For both fans and newcomers to the sport.-Marilyn Taniguchi, Beverly Hills Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
When did baseball players start wearing numbers on their uniforms? How did the rules of the game change and evolve? What are the meanings of the terms "senior circuit" and "twin bill?" These and many more questions are asked and answered as the authors span the history of baseball with a liberal mixture of facts and anecdotes. There are sections concerning uniforms, team names, equipment, umpires and just about every aspect of the game. The whole package is presented in breezy, conversational language, and MacDonald's trademark lively, amusing, action-filled art illustrates many of the most unusual facts. But there are several problems. Old-style baseball slang is liberally sprinkled throughout the text, but the reader must look to margins for the definitions. The sections seem to be in no particular order, and the information flies so thick and fast that young readers might end up totally overwhelmed. Not for the casual fan, it will take a die-hard baseball aficionado to appreciate this effort. (Picture book/nonfiction. 8-12) Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
