You Never Heard of Willie Mays?!

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Schwartz & Wade Books
(Random House)
(pub.1.8.2013) 40 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Jonah Winter
      and Illustrator: Terry Widener

    

C haracter: Willie Mays

O verview from the publisher's website: 

      "He hit 660 home runs (fourth best of all time), had a lifetime batting average of .302, and is second only to Babe Ruth on The Sporting News's list of 'Baseball's 100 Greatest Players.' Many believe him to be the best baseball player that ever lived. His name is Willie Mays. In Jonah Winter and Terry Widener's fascinating picture book biography, young readers can follow Mays's unparalleled career from growing up in Birmingham, Alabama, to playing awe-inspiring ball in the Negro Leagues and then the Majors, where he was center fielder for the New York (later San Francisco) Giants. Complete with sidebars filled with stats, and a cool lenticular cover, here is a book for all baseball lovers, young and old."

T antalizing taste: 

     "You could fill a whole book with all the jaw-droppin' plays Willie made, all the homers he hit, all the bases he stole. But what made 'the Catch' in '54 so special was that millions of people all over America had seen it on TV ... 
      Just look at him: Even as he falls to his knees after makin' that play, his eyes still takin' in the path of the ball - even then, you could see he was mentally still in the game, wantin' to win, never givin' up, ready for more.
     Yessir, in that one moment when Willie made the Catch, he showed the world a new way of playing the game. He changed how people saw his skin. In his own way, he changed the world."

and something more: Today's feature of yet another baseball player biography picture book was inspired by fellow kidlit blogger, Jeff Barger at NC Teacher Stuff. Jeff asked if I knew of any picture book about Willie Mays. Voila! Jeff had recently visited my favorite and local baseball stadium, AT&T Park in San Francisco, and I had mentioned the sculpture of Willie Mays in front of the ballpark.
     I learned that WIllie Mays joined the SF Giants in 1958. Just this past May, Willie Mays celebrated his 82nd birthday and the San Francisco Chronicle posted photos from his career. A living legend and amazing role model!

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Becoming Babe Ruth

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Candlewick Press
(pub. 2.12.2013) 40 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor and Illustrator: Matt Tavares

    

C haracter: Babe Ruth

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "Before becoming the Babe, George Herman Ruth is just a boy who lives in Baltimore and gets into a lot of trouble. But when he tuns seven, his father brings him to the gates of Saint Mary's Industrial School of Boy, and his life is changed forever.
       At Saint Mary's, George is expected to follow a lot of rules - and he gets to play baseball almost every day. Under the watchful eye of Brother Matthias, George evolves as a player and as a man, when he sets of into the wild world of big-league baseball, his family back at Saint Mary's is never far from his heart.
      Matt Tavares's striking homage ... conveys an important message about honoring the place from which you came."

T antalizing taste: 

"A fire has swept through

Saint Mary's Industrial School for Boys.
Nearly every building has been destroyed.
Babe Ruth has an idea.
He writes a letter to Brother Matthias...
For the final two weeks
of the 1920 baseball season,
the school bank form Saint Mary's
gets to join the New York Yankees
on a road trip across America...
The fifty boys from Saint Mary's
get to go to all the games.
They play a concert in the stands
before each game
and another concert every night...
to help rebuild the place where
the 'Sultan of Swat'
learned how to play baseball." 

and something more: I've been featuring baseball player picture books lately -- must be a summer series!  I like that this story not only pays tribute to the enormous influence of Father Matthias in helping Babe Ruth develop into a star baseball play, but also the focus on the need to practice, practice, practice one's passion. As author/illustrator Matt Tavares explains in the Author's Note: "As a lifelong baseball fan, I've always been fascinated by Babe Ruth. As I researched his life, one thing that struck me was the fact that even the 'Sultan of Swat,' who seemed to possess superhuman abilities, needed lots of help along the way. Becoming the king of baseball took countless hours of practice and plenty of support and guidance from his school and from his teacher and mentor, Brother Matthias." 

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Something To Prove

The Great Satchel Paige 
vs. Rookie Joe DiMaggio

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Carolrhoda Books (Lerner Publishing)
(pub. 1.1.2013) 32 pages 

A True Tale with A Cherry On Top

A uthor: Robert Skead

     and Illustrator:  Floyd Cooper

C haracters: Satchel Paige and Joe DiMaggio

O verview from the jacket flap: 

      "In 1936, the New York Yankees wanted to test a hot prospect named Joe DiMaggio to see if he was ready for the big leagues. They knew just the ballpayer to call - Satchel Paige, the best pitcher anywhere, black or white.
      For the game, Paige joined a group of amateur African American players, and they faced off against a team of white major leaguers plus young DiMaggio. The odds were stacked against the less-experienced black team. But Paige's skillful batting and amazing pitching - with his 'trouble ball' and 'bat dodger' - kept the game close.
      Would the rookie DiMaggio prove himself as a major league player?
      Or would Paige once again prove his greatness - and the injustice of segregated baseball?"

T antalizing taste: 

    "Satchel was the marvel of the country. He might even have been the greatest pitcher in the world. but because of the color of his skin, he was not permitted to play in the major leagues...
    Satchel decided to throw the nervous rookie [Joe DiMaggio] his 'whipsey dipsey do.'  He started the windmill delivery, kicked his leg high, and hurled the ball. Joe watched the pitch dip and dance - and he swung and missed. He took a deep breath, readied his bat, and steadied his legs for the next serving. 
      Time to cut loose my 'four-day creeper,' thought Satch.
       ... DiMaggio beamed. 'Now I know I can make it with the Yankees. I finally got a hit off Ol' Satch,' he said."

and something more: Just imagine what Satchel Paige could have accomplished if he had been given the same opportunity to join the big leagues as Joe DiMaggio?

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