Is great hitting in the clean, natural swing of the batter—or the perfectly balanced feel of the bat? As kids know when they start playing baseball, small details must converge just right to overcome the edge between winning and losing, hitting and striking out. Sometimes this translates into superstitions or quirky behavior. First-time author Bildner toes this question in the quirks of Shoeless Joe Jackson and his feared bat, Black Betsy. Joe, who played in the major leagues from 1908 to 1920, does well in the minor leagues, but can’t seem to move up without the help of his South Carolina friend, the great bat-maker Charlie Ferguson. While Charlie knows how to make the best bat, it’s not hard to decide which needs tweaking more, the bat or Joe’s mind so he can finally realize his great potential. From Joe sleeping with the bat to his wrapping it in the cotton of his southern roots, Bildner sticks mostly to the main facts and resists a romanticization of the game. Players who know the perfect, sweeping amalgamation of hand, eye, and sweet spot might expect to hear its dramatic tenor when Joe cracks the ball with Black Betsy, but this is a story finished by statistics. Payne’s (Brave Harriet, p. 944, etc.) mixed-media illustrations are gorgeous: the fuzz is in the flannel and the light is just right. And so are his perspectives, angles, and other compositional choices that make for the right mix of mystery and narrative to draw the reader in. A lengthy synopsis of Joe’s entire career and his statistics are appended. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: March 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-689-82913-2
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Dec. 15, 2001
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
One of the watershed moments in African-American history—the defeat of James Braddock at the hands of Joe Louis—is here given an earnest picture-book treatment. Despite his lack of athletic ability, Sammy wants desperately to be a great boxer, like his hero, getting boxing lessons from his friend Ernie in exchange for help with schoolwork. However hard he tries, though, Sammy just can’t box, and his father comforts him, reminding him that he doesn’t need to box: Joe Louis has shown him that he “can be the champion at anything [he] want[s].” The high point of this offering is the big fight itself, everyone crowded around the radio in Mister Jake’s general store, the imagined fight scenes played out in soft-edged sepia frames. The main story, however, is so bent on providing Sammy and the reader with object lessons that all subtlety is lost, as Mister Jake, Sammy’s father, and even Ernie hammer home the message. Both text and oil-on-canvas-paper illustrations go for the obvious angle, making the effort as a whole worthy, but just a little too heavy-handed. (Picture book. 5-8)
Pub Date: May 1, 2004
ISBN: 1-58430-161-9
Page Count: 32
Publisher: Lee & Low Books
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 1, 2004
Adorable, enchanting, and very ducky indeed.
Feathered newcomers make a memorable theater debut in this latest from actor Andrews and her daughter Hamilton.
Mr. Puddleduck assures his concerned spouse that they’ll find the right place to build a nest for their first clutch of eggs. Exhausted Mrs. P hops into a flower box outside a theater displaying a poster of a performer holding a feathered fan (“That’s a good sign,” says Mr. P). Mrs. P lays her eggs, and Mr. P notes activities inside and outside the building. Peeking in, Mr. P is dazzled by musicians as well as performers wearing glittery costumes: It’s a show! After one rehearsal, Mr. P excitedly quacks and flaps his wings, then feels embarrassed when the performers notice him. He exits but is greeted by Mrs. P’s cacophonous quacking: The newly hatched ducklings, tumbling from the flower box onto the street, must be led to the water, pronto! Mr. P, having learned something about stagecraft, shouts, “Places, everyone!” The ducklings form their own perfect “chorus line,” and the musicians play a marching tune. Indeed, all the performers, as well as various townsfolk, join the parade as the ducklings follow their parents into the water, to a rousing ovation. Bravo to this sweet, gently humorous tale. Readers will be captivated by and root for the protagonists and appreciate the theater setting and denouement. The colorful digital illustrations incorporate lively onomatopoeic words. Human characters are diverse.
Adorable, enchanting, and very ducky indeed. (authors’ note) (Picture book. 5-8)Pub Date: April 30, 2024
ISBN: 9780316283083
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Little, Brown
Review Posted Online: Jan. 5, 2024
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 2024
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
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